With a Super Bowl berth suspended in the balance, eight points to the greatest defender of all time, this year’s presumed MVP under the center, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur opted to hit a goal with 2:09 out of the game. He was fourth and empty on the eight-yard line.
Why would you hit a goal to make it a five-point game and give the ball back to Tom Brady and company? It literally makes no sense. If you hit the target and hit it, you still need to come up with a stop / turnover and score a touchdown to win. If you go fourth down, you have a chance to tie the game. If you go down fourth and don’t score, you still need the same stop / turnover and a touchdown and support Brady on his own eight yard line.
There is no downside to going for it.
But the blame does not fall directly on LaFleur’s shoulders. Rodgers was fighting on the third down, when he made a shot in the end zone. The line opened in front of him, and winding and running was definitely an option. He might not have scored, but if he brought the ball closer to the goal line, he could have made the decision to go fourth down easier.
Of course, they never got the ball back. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers won 31-26.
Regardless, hitting a goal should not have been an option. To be conservative in such moments means just trying to play not to lose, instead of playing to win. LaFleur – rightly so – will face a long offseason in answering questions about that decision.
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