Lions’ St. Brown Thinks It’s “Actually Crazy” How Cameron Dantzler Covered Him

Oct 17, 2021; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore (2) fumbles the ball after a catch while tackled by Minnesota Vikings free safety Xavier Woods. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports.

If you’ve been on Vikings Twitter since the Sunday disaster, you’ll probably have seen some debate about who was responsible for the blown coverage at the end. Some say Xavier Woods, but I’m firmly in the Cameron Dantzler Screwed Up crowd. Former Vikings GM Jeff Diamond suggests Dantzler is to blame, and so does The Athletic‘s Arif Hasan. Even more damning is that Amon-Ra St. Brown seems to also agree it was Dantzler’s error.

Here is his take on how Dantzler chose to play him after explaining that it was “actually crazy” how he was being covered:

I think he was like 3 or 4 yards deep into the end zone. And shoot, I only needed to get a yard or a centimeter in to score. So, to see him so far off? I knew it was gonna be a good play. I just didn’t know what was inside of me. As I broke in, I mean, I knew it was a big chance at it.

It gets worse:

The biggest thing for me was making sure I’m in the end zone when I catch it. And as I broke in, I was wide open actually, ‘I was like no way.’ So I was looking at Jared and I was like, ‘oh, please, just throw it.’ And the ball was in the air. I was like, ‘this can’t take any longer,’ because I know the DB is coming from behind. I was just sitting there waiting because I couldn’t really attack it. I didn’t want to get back into the field of play. Wanted to stay in the end zone. Once I caught it, I knew the game was over, but I didn’t know the game was over over like walk-off over. Went to go celebrate, I look back and see coach Campbell walking across the field. I was like ‘wow, the game is over over.’

So there you have it, folks. Now, it’s entirely possible that Woods still played things poorly, or that both were at fault. Nevertheless, it’s pretty notable that the receiver himself was thinking during the play that he couldn’t believe what Cameron Dantzler was doing. If you can stomach it, here is the play in question:

This neat visual offers a bit of a different perspective:

Regardless of whether Cameron Dantzler or Xavier Woods was responsible, the broader point remains that the Vikings lost to the Lions. It’s the kind of error that makes a change at head coach seem almost inevitable.



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