This past regular season, Dan Campbell went for it on fourth down 34% of the time, which according to ESPN Stats & Info is the highest percentage of any team in the twenty-first century.
There aren’t many opportunities for field goals as a result, particularly when shooting long. In addition, since the Detroit Lions let Matt Prater depart a few years ago, kicker has had an incredible journey. However, in the team’s 24-23 wild-card victory over the Los Angeles Rams last weekend, that frequently utilized field-goal unit performed admirably.
A crucial turning point in the victory came in the third quarter when Lions kicker Michael Badgley converted a 54-yard field goal. The Lions kicker’s season-long make also happened to be the longest in special teams coordinator Dave Fipp’s three-year career in Detroit.
“I believe there are other factors involved, beyond just the kicker’s skill or our willingness or inability to kick long field goals,” Fipp remarked. “It’s really what’s best for the football team, and I don’t think it will change; it’s always been that way.”
In the closing moments, Badgley replaced former Lions kicker Riley Patterson. During the final four games of the year, he converted all four field goals attempts while missing only two of his fifteen point-after attempts.
And to further demonstrate how little the Lions relied on their field-goal unit, consider that hypothetical kicker would rank among the NFL’s least used starting kickers when adding Badgley and Patterson’s 22 attempts during the season.
But Badgley has shown himself to be a valuable long-range option for the Lions. Before training camp, he was cut, bounced around the NFL, and spent 12 weeks back on the practice squad.
Throughout 12 games in 2022, he served as Detroit’s main kicker, connecting on 20 of 24 attempts with a long of 53 yards. Additionally, Fipp has voiced his faith in the “Money Badger,” and he doesn’t plan on modifying it before this weekend’s divisional-round matchup at Ford Field against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“You can see that in him, and it obviously helps your confidence,” Fipp said of Badgley’s huge kick. Having said that, I believe he has been hitting the ball well for a considerable amount of time. That’s the main reason he’s currently filling that role for us.
