NFL great scrutinizes Lions' Dan Campbell for aggressive onside kick decision in loss to Bills

NFL legend J.J. Watt criticized Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell for his decision for an onside kick early in the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The Lions opted for the onside attempt while down 10 points with about 12 minutes left in the game. Instead, Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins returned the bouncing ball 38 yards to set up a Josh Allen touchdown pass to Ray Davis. Buffalo went back up 17 points.

Watt lobbed his criticism on X.

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"It was a 10-point game. With 12 minutes left. I don’t understand," Watt wrote.

"I ‘think’ I could wrestle a small bear, that doesn’t mean I should try it. I love that DC believes in his squad so much that he thinks everything they do will be successful. But onside kicks have a 7% success rate. Trying one with 12 min left while only down by 10 was insane."

The Bills never wavered and won the game 48-42. 

Campbell admitted he thought they would have recovered the kick.

"I thought we’d get that ball," he said. "I wish I hadn’t done it."

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The element of a surprise onside kick was nixed to usher in the dynamic kickoff. Teams must declare their intention of an onside kick and can only try it in the fourth quarter. Entering Week 15, only 3-of-41 onside kicks were recovered.

NFL executive Troy Vincent said the competition committee may have to consider options to revive the onside kick because it has become a "dead play."

"I think all has to be on the table," Vincent said. "When we adjusted the kickoff five, six years ago, that also (impacted) the onside kick. You used to have overload, attack blocks, trap blocks that occurred on that play, which was a pretty dangerous play. You can set people up for failures is what we would say.

"I think you have to look at all aspects. You should be able to do that in any quarter. It’s not a surprise onside kick. I think all of those things have to come back to the table. We should explore. Our effort should be to make every single play a competitive play and that includes that play whether it’s first quarter or fourth quarter."

The Philadelphia Eagles proposed an adjustment to onside kicks last year. It would have let teams try a 4th-and-20 from their own 20. If converted, the team would get the ball back.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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