Detroit Lions' 1st half field goal blunder proves costly in loss to Bucs

The Detroit Lions fell to 1-1 on Sunday afternoon following their 20-16 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .

While much of the conversation will rightly surround the lackluster performance of Lions quarterback Jared Goff and the offense, Detroit could have still won the game if not for a huge blunder at the end of the first half.

In the closing seconds of the second quarter, the Lions were in field goal range and could have put three points. However, the Lions' field goal unit was sent onto the field before the Lions were able to spike the ball, leading to a penalty and a 10-second runoff that ended the half before the Lions could get their field goal opportunity.

Those three points turned out to be crucial, because the Lions were in field goal range late in the fourth quarter while trailing 20-16. Had they notched the three points in the first half, they could have went to Jake Bates, who was 3-for-3 in the game, for a game-winning field goal from 43 yards out.

At halftime, head coach Dan Campbell took full responsibility for the miscue at the end of the first half.

"100% on the head coach there," Campbell said, per The Detroit News' Nolan Bianchi . "Totally screwed my team. That is mine... I made a decision that I shouldn't have made, and our team is gonna have to overcome it. That's the bottom line."

Again, none of this is to excuse how poorly the offense played in this game, but simply executing a field goal would have erased all of that.