The Detroit Lions are preparing for one of their biggest games of the season in Week 11. Detroit travels to Philadelphia for Sunday Night Football in a matchup that could be a playoff preview. The Lions are rolling with one big change that helped them get their offense back on track against the Commanders.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell told Jay Glazer that he is taking over play calling on offense permanently for the rest of the season, per Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.
Campbell took over play-calling duties in Week 10 as a response to Detroit's heartbreaking loss against Minnesota the week prior.
Detroit immediately saw positive results. The Lions beat the Commanders 44-22 and embarrassed Washington's defense by putting up 546 total yards on offense. Detroit averaged a whopping 8.0 yards per play, showing that they are still one of the league's best offenses.
Lions offensive coordinator John Morton has been under the microscope for the entire season. He had big shoes to fill after Ben Johnson left the Lions to coach the Bears.
While he had some good games, Morton also clearly struggled to get every player on offense involved. And Detroit's Week 9 loss against Minnesota was the straw that broke the camel's back.
But to his credit, Morton himself publicly supported the change during a recent interview.
“I fully support it,” Morton said Thursday, via the Detroit News. “Listen, man. I've been doing this for a while. I've been with head coaches that are offensive guys, play-callers, so I'm used to that. I feel very prideful of things that I was doing. There's some things I've got to learn, no doubt.”
Ultimately, Morton wants to do whatever it takes to get wins for the Lions. Even if it means handing off key responsibilities.
“But listen, I want to do whatever it takes to win,” Morton concluded.
Lions at Eagles kicks off at 8:20PM ET on Sunday.
