Throughout this week, we are going to go through the 10 plays (with some liberties for moments) that shaped the 2015 season for the Detroit Lions.
See the complete list as it is unveiled here.
The play: The Lions trailed Minnesota, 28-17, with 2:28 left in Week 7 and were at the Vikings' 1-yard line. Facing a second-and-goal and needing a quick score to have a chance to win, the Lions brought in George Winn for the carry. Winn was stopped at the line of scrimmage. The next play, fullback Michael Burton was also stopped for no gain.
The situation: With a chance to try to pull off a come-from-behind win, the Lions chose to give the ball to a player who had not had a carry in the 2015 season, Winn. Then they handed it to their fullback, who had two career carries. There was a more experienced goal-line back, Joique Bell, and a more explosive back, Ameer Abdullah, on the sidelines. The pass -- especially with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate available -- was also an option. Instead, Lions coach Jim Caldwell and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi gave the ball to a player who would end up having four carries all season in Winn.
The reason it mattered: There were a couple other plays in that game that also might have forced this decision, but the failed goal-line push all but sealed the fate of Lombardi, who was fired the next day. If the Lions scored and somehow won that game, Lombardi may have ended up keeping his job and the Lions would have been on a two-game win streak heading to London. Instead, it was the play that appeared to finalize the beginning of change in Detroit. Within the next month, the Lions would have a new offensive coordinator (Jim Bob Cooter), a new offensive line coach (Ron Prince), an interim general manager (Sheldon White) and an interim COO (Allison Maki) due to the firings of those who held those positions in Week 7. That game -- and that 28-19 loss -- ended up forcing the start of a shakeup with the Lions. It was part of a complete offensive failure for the majority of the loss to the Vikings, where the Lions gained seven yards combined in the second and third quarters.
How Winn’s season fared: He was less productive than in 2014, when he appeared in 12 games and had 73 rushing yards. Winn was active for seven games this season, called up after the season-ending injury to Zach Zenner. Winn rushed four times in 2015 for one yard. He also had five special-teams tackles. He was inactive for the final three games of the season.
What Jim Caldwell said about giving the ball to Winn there: “It’s not his first day of work. He’s been working, and we have to go with what we think works. And it didn’t work in that particular case, so … obviously there’s always some question, but George is very capable.”