What’s more fun than second-guessing NFL coaches? Nothing, that’s what. So let’s do it every week, right here. We start with a question of overtime strategy: keep driving or kick for the win?
The scenario: Baltimore at Cincinnati, overtime. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson has just fumbled the ball, and the Bengals have the ball at the Baltimore 38. Any Cincinnati score now ends the game.
The options available to Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor: Push forward with an offense that had been humming all day, or set up for a field goal to get the victory.
Push or kick? Your call.
The case for pushing: Joe Burrow threw for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns on the day, and he’d hit three straight touchdowns to start the second half. Cincinnati had 6:28 on the clock and two timeouts to work with, standing 38 yards from the end zone. Yes, Burrow had thrown an interception late in the fourth quarter, but he’s also one of the best quarterbacks in the game, and he lives for these moments.
The case for kicking: Take the W and get out the door. The 53-yarder was well within kicker Evan McPherson’s range. All-time, he was 24 of 31 in kicks of 50-plus yards coming into the game. In terms of low-risk, high-reward strategies, the fewer plays you have to execute in overtime, the better.
The result: Cincinnati opted to kick … and disaster ensued. The Bengals called three straight runs for a total of three yards gained, setting up the kick at midfield. But the hold was fumbled, and the kick went wide left.
Effect on the game’s outcome: Given a second chance at life, the Ravens took advantage. On the very first play from scrimmage, Baltimore’s Derrick Henry stormed for a monster 51-yard run that set up a walk-off Justin Tucker field goal.
Taylor explained his decision after the game. “When you’re in field goal range and you believe in your kicker, it’s really as simple as that,” he said. “We feel like we’re in field goal range … We’ve thrown the ball in that situation before. We call the pass. Joe actually did a great job getting us out of it, back into a run, because the look was not there to throw it. And so there was good management by him. Still got a couple of yards out of it, and then we’re in a position to win with the field goal and we thought we’d win it with that.”
Even some of his own players disagreed. “Personally I thought we should have gone a little more aggressive on the first and second down to get Evan in better field goal range,” said Bengals WR Tee Higgins, who had two touchdown receptions on the day.
Burrow had his coach’s back. “As good as their rush is, you always take a chance at getting sacked in that situation,” he said. “I’m not second-guessing that. We were in field goal range … We had a shot to win it, and we didn’t take advantage of it.”
Alas, the win wasn’t to be. “Sick to my stomach for my guys in there,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to find a way to win.”
That’s true … but did the Bengals give away that way to win? Your call.
