Lions Coach Dan Campbell Said Fans Doing The Wave Helped Him OK Winning Play

If you thought fans who still try to get the wave started are morons who are just wasting their time, think again.

Dan Campbell says they helped the Lions win this past weekend.

The Lions pulled off a trick play en route to a 34-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings in which offensive tackle Penei Sewell lined up as an eligible receiver.

As it turns out, the Lions' head coach wasn't even sure what play his team was about to run. Had he known he may not have signed off on it.

Lucky for Detroit, Dan Campbell was too busy drinking in the sweet, sweet Ford Field wave.

Campbell explained what happened in a Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

"The fans were doing the wave around the stadium, so I'm just watching" Campbell said. "Then I hear (offensive coordinator) Ben Johnson's like, 'Hey coach...,' and I'm so focused on the wave, I said, 'Yeah, that's fine.'

Campbell Didn't Know What He Okayed At First

Campbell soon realized what he had approved.

"I look up and we're throwing it to Penei, and I'm like 'what the f--k are we doing?!'"

Save for that momentary cocktail of rage, frustration, and confusion, it all worked out for the Lions in the end. Sewell's unlikely reception led to a first down and allowed the Lions to get into field goal range and give themselves a two-possession lead.

"It worked out great, it's unbelievable," Campbell said. "We worked the heck out of it, we've seen (Sewell) run the routes, we've. seen him flip his hips, he's got soft hands. The only thing I was worried about that I wanted to make sure (Jared) Goff got to him was stay in bounds."

Well, fortunately, Jared Goff wasn't hypnotized by the wave. He sure seems to have relayed that message to Sewell.

The big win over the NFC North-leading Vikings helps the red-hot Lions make a bid for a playoff spot.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.