What’s more fun than guessing NFL coaches? Nothing, that’s it. So let’s do it every week right here. Today: What should the Commanders have done after scoring a miraculous late touchdown against Dallas?
The scenario
At the end of the third quarter, Dallas led 10-9 over Washington on Sunday. With one minute left in the game, the score was 27 Dallas, Washington 20… so the scores were flying. And so was Washington’s Terry McLaurin, who scampered for an 86-yard touchdown to make it 27-26 with just 21 seconds left.
To force overtime – or win – there was only one decision left: kick or go for it?
Case for kicking
Conventional wisdom says that when one of the players goes down late in the game, you kick the tie at home and overtime and go for the road win. Washington was at home and after three tough quarters seemed to find some weaknesses in the Dallas defense, scoring on three separate occasions. This year, two-point conversions have been successful at just 32.4% through the first half of this season, down significantly from 48.7% from 2010-23, according to an AP study.
Additionally, Washington’s Austin Seibert was a perfect 22-of-22 on extra points. Coming into the day.
A case to go for it
It’s more of an all-in gambler mentality than an analytics-based one, but Washington had Dallas on its heels by a touchdown, so why not go for it and try for a surprise win? After all, catching Dallas off guard wouldn’t be the most shocking outcome of this game.
Additionally, Seibert’s season-perfect extra point streak ended earlier in the day when he missed a left-handed attempt in the third quarter. So why not put the ball in the hands of playmaker extraordinaire Jayden Daniels and see what happens?
Decision
Washington head coach Dan Quinn opted for the extra point … and Seibert is now 22 of 24 extra points. The kick went left again. And as if to add insult to injury, Dallas returned Seibert’s punt attempt for another touchdown. That led to 41 total points scored in the fourth quarter…but it wasn’t the one that made all the difference.
The result
Washington has now lost three in a row and dropped to the lowest level of the playoff bubble. It could be a major and costly loss that could very easily go in the opposite direction.
So, would you kick the safe extra point or go for the two-point conversion and checkmate? how do you say