In a disappointing turn of events, the Detroit Lions found themselves on the losing end of a critical mistake that cost them a chance to score three points on Sunday. Lions coach Dan Campbell took full responsibility for the blunder that occurred at the end of the first half, leaving his team with zero points on the drive.

With just under 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter, quarterback Jared Goff completed a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, bringing the Lions to Tampa Bay's 9-yard line. However, due to the absence of any timeouts, the Lions needed to spike the ball to stop the clock. Unfortunately, confusion on the sideline led to a mix-up with the field goal team.

As Goff prepared to spike the ball, the field goal team began rushing onto the field for a potential hurry-up field goal. Consequently, when the snap was taken, there were roughly 20 players on the field, resulting in an easy "too many men on the field" penalty. Although the five-yard penalty itself was not significant, the Lions were forced to endure a 10-second runoff. With only nine seconds remaining and no timeouts left, the first half concluded without any points for Detroit.

The Detroit Lions headed into halftime with a 13-6 deficit against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The missed opportunity to add three points to the scoreboard proved influential as the Buccaneers would eventually secure a 20-16 victory. After the game, coach Dan Campbell shouldered the blame for the critical error.

In a postgame interview, a visibly emotional Campbell expressed his remorse, acknowledging that there was no justification for the mistake. He admitted that the fault lay solely with him and stated, "It's a massive error on my part and no one else's. It was just between hurry-up field goal and clocking it, and it was 100 percent my fault."

Campbell's self-criticism continued as he pointed out the improvement in their performance since the previous week but emphasized the importance of not letting crucial errors like this happen. He further stated, "So, critical error to end the half, and 100 percent on me. We improved. There are areas we've got to continue to improve on, but it's not OK."

The Lions' struggles in the red zone were evident throughout the game. Despite advancing inside Tampa Bay's 20-yard line a total of seven times, they managed to score only one touchdown. This performance marked the first time since 1981 that the Lions had at least six red zone possessions without a touchdown, according to ESPN.

Despite outgaining the Buccaneers by an impressive 247 yards (463-216), the Lions' inability to convert their drives into points ultimately led to their defeat. This loss emphasizes the need for the team to capitalize on their opportunities and display more efficiency in the red zone moving forward.

As the Lions reflect on their performance, they will undoubtedly work towards rectifying the mistakes made at the close of the first half. With coach Dan Campbell taking full responsibility and demanding improvement from his team, the Lions will strive to learn from this experience and ensure such critical errors do not occur in the future.