The Detroit Lions survived a close game vs. the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving.
It seemed like Dan Campbell’s team had the game under control.
Then, a late-game surge by the Bears made life difficult for them.
Notably, that wasn’t much of a surprise to coach Campbell.
He knew some of Caleb Williams’ tendencies well and wanted his team to stay ready for them.
As Amon-Ra St. Brown pointed out in the latest edition of his podcast (via Dov Kleiman), Campbell warned his players – and even the referees – that they would hit Williams hard if he faked running out of bounds to get in again.
????????: #Lions HC Dan Campbell told his defense before the game to HIT Bears QB Caleb Williams when he tries to go in and out of bounds:
"If he does this, we're going to hit his A**; I already warned the refs; the refs know."
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 4, 2024
That’s one of Williams’ signature moves, and even if it cost them plenty of yards, Campbell was looking to make a statement.
The league has to take a closer look at that rule.
Quarterbacks have the edge in those situations.
Of course, that’s not Williams’ fault.
He’s bending the rules in his favor, which is what smart and good players do.
Still, that often leads to big gains that wouldn’t happen otherwise if the rules were different.
That’s why more and more defenses will start taking that same approach.
They will be physical and make their presence felt every single time, and if they get penalized because of that, so be it.
Hopefully, that won’t lead to big-time injuries in the future.
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