Dan Campbell gives the realest answer ever to Jahmyr Gibbs giving away Lions plays

The Detroit Lions escaped with a narrow 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day, but it was a difficult win to celebrate. The Lions were let off the hook by former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, whose baffling clock management cost Chicago an opportunity to send the game into overtime. 

Detroit’s struggles could be blamed on the short week of rest, their historically poor performances on Thanksgiving, or their sloppy performance. The Lions had an opportunity to take a 23-0 lead in the final minute of the first half, but running back Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled the ball near the goal line. The Bears recovered the ball and kept the game within two scores.

Gibbs’ undisciplined play also spilled over into his off-field decisions. The 22-year-old inadvertently shared key terminology for the Lions’ offense in a social media post after the game. The post was meant to be a photo of Lions running back Jermar Jefferson, but a whiteboard in the background showed several of the offense’s dropback protection calls. 

Lions head coach Dan Campbell was made aware of the post during a press conference on Saturday, and he declining to comment on whether the Lions would need to change their terminology.

Dan Campbell doesn’t care about opponents seeing Jahmyr Gibbs’ post

Campbell dismissed any concerns about the post on Monday during his weekly radio interview with WXYT-FM (97.1).

“We might as well put everything out there," Campbell said. "I don’t really give a crap. I mean, if we’re gonna lose because of code words, then we’re not good enough anyway. I think we’ll just post the whole freakin’ playbook and every code word we’ve got. It doesn’t matter. It’s not gonna hurt us, it won’t affect us. It’s all good.”

Campbell claimed that the post didn’t reveal anything that opponents couldn’t decipher from watching film. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s strategy is no secret. Detroit’s identity is rooted in a diverse rushing attack that deploys both gap and zone scheme runs, and their dominant offensive line has allowed them to attack defenses with a variety of running plays from a variety of personnel packages. The offensive line has the power to bully defenses on the interior and the athletic ability to get out in space for outside runs. Their arsenal of running plays includes power, duo, counter, inside zone, outside zone, pin-pull sweeps, and countless others.

The success on the ground opens up the play-action plays for Lions quarterback Jared Goff and emerging star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. 

"It’s on tape, the TV copy,” Campbell said. “I mean, you guys at home get more than we do, until after the game. I’m telling you, it’s crazy. Listen, it’s all out there and you can find any and everything that you need on the tape and how to attack people, how they’re going to attack you and no, listen, I'm not losing sleep over that. Now, do I want us posting stuff up from our locker room or our players or whatever? No, I don’t because you don’t know what’s going to happen with something like that. But no, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal."

In the Lions’ high-octane offense, Gibbs currently has a team-high 973 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. The second-year back is averaging 6 yards per carry, second-best behind only Saquon Barkley. Alongside backfield teammate David Montgomery, the Lions’ running backs have emerged as the best tandem in the league. 

Campbell made it clear that Gibbs would not face any disciplinary action for the post.

"We’re fine," Campbell said. "As a matter of fact, I joked at him about it yesterday. I messed with him, so it’s good. I’m not even worried about it."

The Lions have dominated their opponents in all three phases of the game throughout the 2024 season. Entering Week 13, the Lions had an overall DVOA of 47.5 percent, the fifth-best among all teams through 11 games since 1979, per FTN Fantasy. 

Regardless, defensive injuries remain the most concerning issue for Detroit. Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, who was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL, is the team’s seventh key defensive player to suffer a season-ending injury.