GREEN BAY, Russia. – Matt LaFleur said that while he ended up regretting his decision to take the ball out of the hands of Aaron Rodgers and hit a goal with 2:09 left after the 31-26 loss of Green The Bay Packers at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday had confidence in the thinking behind this move.
Dropping eight points (31-23) at the time and facing the fourth and goal on the 8-yard line, LaFleur sent Mason Crosby in place of a 26-yard goal, instead of giving Rodgers another shot in the back. the final area (and then a 2-point conversation attempt) to tie the score.
Crosby converted, but Rodgers never got the ball back thanks to Tom Brady and a call for interference from Packers’ corner kick, Kevin King, which allowed the Bucs to run out of time.
“Yeah, it doesn’t work anytime, you always regret it, don’t you?” LaFleur said after the game. “It was just the circumstances of having three shots and going out without yards and knowing that not only do you need a touchdown, but you need 2 points [conversion]. As I looked at it, I essentially had four breaks with the two-minute warning.
“I knew we had to make a stop and I thought we would have a stop there in the end, but we were called for [defensive pass interference] and it didn’t work. I think something never comes out, do you regret it? Sure, but we will always be led by trial here and the way our defense fought, the way our defense played, felt like it was the right decision to make. It just didn’t work. “
Rodgers understood the thought, but after the game he said, “It wasn’t my decision.” He said LaFleur gave him the option to call the previous game to the bottom third – a play that led to a fight and a throw when Rodgers could have run it.
Rodgers said he could have resorted to another piece if he knew LaFleur would opt for a goal on the field.
“I thought we might have a four chance to leave,” Rodgers said.
According to ESPN’s Win Probability model, the Packers had a 10% chance of winning by going fourth down and a 9.5% chance of winning by hitting a target.
The model also suggested that the Packers needed a 21% conversion chance to justify participating in the touchdown there, with an average league conversion rate of 23%. The Packers were offensive no. 1 this season.
Earlier, LaFleur opted for a 2-point conversation after Rodgers’ 2-meter touchdown pass to Davante Adams, with 24 seconds left in the third quarter, made it 28-23. Equanimeous St. Packers Receiver Brown took Rodgers’ step into the end zone. According to the ESPN model, the 2-point failed test was the correct decision from an analytical point of view.
However, losing a single point he would have earned for an extra point, the Packers later found themselves in a position to drop eight and thus needed a touchdown and a 2-point conversation in the final minutes before of their last field. wears.
Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians said he thought the decision was the right one – “I thought they had a lot of confidence in their defense at that point in time,” he said – but defender Shaq Barrett said he was surprised. what untied.
“I couldn’t believe it, because there was no guarantee that they would do it there again, even if they were in fourth place – they might as well try,” Barrett said. “I know our offense – they were amazing in this year’s four-minute offense without giving the ball to the team – so I had the most confidence in them. But, I know if he could take it back, he probably wouldn’t do it next time “.
Although LaFleur did not necessarily talk about the decision to score on the field, he said at the end of his press conference that he was not in charge of his game.
“We felt we had a lot of opportunities tonight to take advantage and do the job,” LaFleur said. “I didn’t do it, and that falls on me and that’s a hard pill to swallow when you’re responsible for everyone in this organization to make sure you’re in your A game and I don’t feel like I was tonight. I’m pretty disappointed in that [I] let many people fall. “
ESPN’s Jenna Laine contributed to this story.