'Fast, physical and violent' Lions buoyed by four fourth-down conversions in win over Chargers

INGLEWOOD, Calif -- You didn't need to know ahead of time the attitude Detroit Lions Coach Dan Campbell wanted his team to have against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

The Lions showed you, early and often, on one fourth down after another, on runs short and long, on passes and pitches, on the goal line and, finally, with the game on the line.

"I wanted us to play fast, physical and violent," Campbell said.

The Chargers were on the receiving end of all those roundhouse punches. They threw a few, too, in a wild shootout that was a monument to aggressive coaching and spectacular offense, ending with the Lions winning, 41-38, to go to 7-2.

The victory, the sixth in the Lions' last seven games, keeps them ahead of the surging Minnesota Vikings (6-4) in the NFC North and keeps alive the hope that the Lions could win their division for the first time since 1993.

At the root of those hopes is what was on display Sunday -- a finally healthy offense that has the full faith of its coaches. That was never more obvious than on the final drive, with the game tied and the ball in the Lions' hands. They were playing to line up a makeable field goal as the seconds ticked away, but nearly as important was keeping the Chargers' Justin Herbert on the bench. All game, the fourth-down calls had worked, on a David Montgomery fourth-and-5 run in the first quarter, on a fourth-and goal Jahmyr Gibbs run in the second. On and on it went, the foot-on-the-gas approach of both coaches -- the Chargers were 3 of 3 on fourth down, the Lions 4 of 5 -- driven by analytics, sure, but also by an acknowledgement that nobody was stopping anybody so points had to be squeezed from every possession.

And so, on fourth-and-2 from the Chargers' 26-yard line with