Daily News | Field goals are for losers, and Nick Sirianni is no loser
If you want to know how mediocre coaches think, sometimes all you need to do is listen to the announcers. Take Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard-line on Sunday. After falling behind 14-0 early in the second quarter, thedrove 50 yards down the field to put themselves in position for their first points of the day. On the CBS broadcast, color commentator Jay Feely sounded genuinely torn about what Sirianni should do.
On the one hand, the Eagles were down two touchdowns and playing in sloppy conditions where points looked like they would be at a premium. They had a dominant offensive line and a dual-threat quarterback who has thrived near the goal line and they had a coach who’d faced a similar situation nine previous times in his career and had decided to kick a field goal only twice.
In fairness, the numbers are interesting. Since 2021, teams that opt for a first-half field goal on fourth-and-goal inside the 4-yard-line are 12-10 in those games. Meanwhile, teams that go for it are 22-26. In fairness to Feely and all the conservative coaches out there, points do matter. At the same time, those numbers don’t tell us a whole lot, given the number of situational variables that are in play. One thing we do know is what the micro-level analytics say: If the Eagles had lined up for a field goal, their Expected Points for that play would have been 3.0. Once they lined up to go for it, their Expected Points were somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.3.
Again, football is a possession game, and possessions are all or nothing. You can’t score 3.3 points. You get seven or zero. But Sirianni’s track record has shown him consistently making the right call in these situations. This was the eighth time that Sirianni chose to go for it on fourth-and-goal from inside the 5-yard-line. That’s the most in the NFL since the start of the 2021 season, Sirianni’s first as a head coach. The results speak for themselves.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Stratford beats Cypress Creek with late field goalGiancarlo Chelala nailed a 27-yard field goal with 1:05 left and Stratford picked up its...
Read more »
Week 5 college football winners and losers: Oklahoma implodes, Alabama shows resolveAnother weekend in college football brought wild finishes and shocking upsets across the country. Here's the winners and losers from Week 5.
Read more »
Britney Spears’ Mom Apologized to Her in an Instagram CommentIn a recent Instagram post, Britney Spears said she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to forgive her family, but, that’s not stopping her mother, Lynne Spears, from reaching out publicly
Read more »
NFL Winners and Losers: Bills prove something in a huge comeback win over RavensOne weird stat with the Buffalo Bills the past couple seasons was their record in close games. Over the past two seasons they were 0-7 in games decided by seven points or less, including playoffs.
Read more »