The Green Bay Packers made a surprising decision to kick a field goal with 2:05 left in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, and it cost them.
The Packers were down 31-23 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and drove inside the 10. They had three shots at a touchdown but failed to score. Then on fourth-and-goal from the eight, the Packers decided to kick a field goal.
Mason Crosby easily made the kick, but that only made it a 31-26 game.
One has to wonder what Green Bay was thinking.
Even after kicking the field goal, the Packers were still going to need a touchdown to win. A field goal was useless. They had three timeouts, so they were relying on their defense to get a quick stop and then the offense to drive for a touchdown.
The more prudent idea would have been to go for the touchdown and two-point conversion to tie. Even if the Packers failed, they would have needed a defensive stop to get the ball back, and they would have needed a touchdown again.
By kicking the field goal in that situation, you are taking the fate of your team out of your MVP quarterbackâs hands, and instead putting it into the hands of Tom Brady.
Why on earth would Matt LaFleur do that?
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