Last second victories are beautiful and terrifying. Sometimes they are also completely unnecessary. This was the case in the Buccaneers Monday Night Football clash with the New York Giants, which brings us to a critical point to make.
Heading into the second half the Buccaneers defense stepped up on the Giants first drive. Carlton Davis picked off and ill advised throw by Daniel Jones and the Bucs immediately marched into the end zone. With the third-quarter just beginning and the Buccaneers down 14-12, Bruce Arians elected to go for two points and the tie. They failed!
Hindsight Is Always 20/20
Flash forward to the end of the game with the Giants driving down by eight. The entire game is different if they are down by nine. With 25+ minutes left in the game coaching should not be worried about going for a tie. Especially not against a team like the Giants. You take every point you can and count on your team to win. At that point, the two point differential is irrelevant.
No one really wants to talk about decisions like this, but this is a continuing theme going back to last season. Poor clock management and decisions like this are not a small problem. These are the decisions that can cost you championships. Poor coaching decisions and clock management like the Buccaneers have seen under Arians going back to last season. The players have been able to cover for them to this point, but what happens in a critical game against a better team? Remember that last year the Giants game came down to a field goal when the coach decided it was better for your kicker to be 5 yards further away for the kick.
Keeping things in perspective, the Buccaneers won this game. The team is vastly improved thanks to Arians & Co. Lurking in the shadows is a horrifying possibility. The end of this game would have been different if the Buccaneers recognized how critical one point can be. And that is a critical point to make. At least that’s how it appears From the Cheap Seats.
