Outcoached?

[*PhilHos*]

(09-12-2023, 05:24 PM)samhain Wrote: It was odd to me to see them go for it on that 4th down with so much time left in the 4th.  

I get that the offense did nothing all day, but IIRC it was still just 16-3 at that point.  It's not likely, but if they punted and didn't basically give the Browns guaranteed points, a TD on the next drive gets them within a score and a prayer.  It also puts more pressure on the Browns offense, something they didn't deal with all day.  The defense really got put in a hole after that failed 4th down, and that's gotta be a tough thing to deal with when they were the only thing keeping the game manageable all afternoon.

At any point in this game, the team was a touchdown away from changing the entire complexion of the score right up until then.  For them to give up and yank Burrow that quick told me that their expectations in this game were not high.  it was a very live and fight another day move.

I want to know why they punted on the one 4th down when they were in FG range. I'm not saying go for the FG (it would've been a long one and in those conditions all but guaranteed to miss), but keep the offense out there and go for the 1st down. What makes it especially strange is that I think it's the kind of 4th down that Zac previously usually went for the 1st down.