So, my friend and fellow A to Z Sports’ writer Mike Payton, who covers the Detroit Lions, wrote about former New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s recent rant on head coach Dan Campbell for his actions against the Dallas Cowboys during a 49-7 rout in Week 6.
I have some thoughts on it, as his message reflected that of many Cowboys fans and even players and coaches were asked about it after the game. In short, Christie was on the Mad Dog show earlier this week and criticized Campbell for running trick plays while up by a bazillion points at AT&T Stadium, many of which were focused on offensive linemen getting the ball after a controversial call wiped out a Taylor Decker two-point conversion that would’ve likely won the game.
Below is Christie’s full speech.
“That’s Dan Campbell. He’s got no class, never has. So it’s fine. Look, Dan Campbell, that’s the way he is, and what goes around comes around. I just think that it’s misdirected you know, Dan Campbell’s angry because the referees got a call wrong in the game a year ago. Well, then you know, run that play on Roger Goodell. The Cowboys had nothing to do with the play being called incorrectly. It wasn’t a challenge that the Cowboys made. It was a call the referees made. The Lions got hurt by it. The Cowboys benefited by it. But now so because of that, you want to take your, you know, your peak for that, while you’re, you know, beating the hell out of these guys, and rub it in. That’s not what pros do, but it’s his prerogative. It’s the reputation that he’ll carry around. Quite frankly I see most people think that his rep now anyway.”
Right off the bat, I’ll say this: Christie is right about the Cowboys having nothing to do with the officiating crew’s decision in 2023. However, as someone covering the team on the receiving end of Sunday’s embarrassing beatdown, I have nothing but admiration for Campbell for acting like it was Dallas that made that happen.
And boy did he, since their opening play of the game, the Lions had Dan Skipper report as an eligible receiver. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson didn’t have a trick play in store to get an O-lineman into the end zone, he had multiple. From the opening kickoff, the Lions had an edge to them in this game.
Even if a small percentage of that had to do with last year’s call, you’ve got to respect Campbell from instilling that in his players. That’s what you want in the NFL when you’re trying to have the winning edge.
A lot of fans have complained about the calls being unnecessary due to the score but is it really on the Lions that the Cowboys simply didn’t show up to compete? I don’t believe it’s rage Dallas fans should feel but rather envy.
Not to mention, with Aidan Hutchinson suffering a brutal injury earlier in the game, the trick plays and outright fun the Lions were having on the field likely raised morale for the team.