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Video: Lions HC Campbell Takes Blames for 'Critical Error' in Bucs Loss, '100% on Me'

Zach Bachar

Dan Campbell shouldered the blame for poor clock management on Sunday.

The Detroit Lions head coach took responsibility after the team squandered a scoring opportunity just before halftime in a 20-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I asked for improvement from last week was the story, and we did improve. And their coach cost them -- their head coach cost them this one," Campbell said, via ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "So, critical error to end the half, and 100 percent on me. We improved. There's areas we've got to continue to improve on, but it's not OK."

With the Lions trailing 13-6 and just under two minutes remaining in the second quarter, they were able to drive down to the Buccaneers' nine-yard line.

As quarterback Jared Goff and the offense ran up to spike the ball with three seconds left, Detroit's field goal unit prematurely entered the game. The Lions were penalized for too many men on the field, resulting in a 10-second runoff that subsequently ended the half.

"Look, it was nothing that's going to make any sense to anybody," Campbell said, per Woodyard. "There's no way to justify this. It's a massive error on my part, no one else's. It was just between hurry-up field goal and clocking, and it was 100 percent my fault."

Detroit still had several opportunities to emerge with a win after the blunder, trailing by just four points entering the fourth quarter. The Lions had the ball on Tampa Bay's 44-yard line with 33 seconds remaining in regulation, but an eventual fourth-down pass from Goff fell incomplete.

Campbell's team couldn't consistently finish drives despite being able to move the chains, racking up 463 total yards on Sunday. The Lions will look to avoid errors in the red zone during their next contest, a Week 3 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

   

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