USA TODAY Sports
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is just over a week away from their loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship, and is holding the decision to kick a goal off the field in the last minutes.
LaFleur opted for a 26-goal try in the field as the Packers were 31-23 behind with 2:09 left to play. The conversion narrowed the gap to five, but the Packers never saw the ball again as the Buccaneers closed out the win.
LaFleur said via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com on Monday that he would make the same call if he presented the same situation to him.
“If I had to do it again, if it was fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line, we’d kick a field goal,” LaFleur said. ‘If this is the fourth goal of the five, I think we have another discussion. You have to play the percentages. We had three strokes, got no yards. This is how it goes. Some people will agree. Some people will disagree. This is in my heart the best decision for me. Unfortunately, this did not work out. ”
Reasonably, the decision to kick the field goal increased the chances that Packers could win the game in regulation. It also increased the chances that they could lose the game straight without trying to equalize the chance with an attack and two-point conversion needed to keep the game going. It also meant he had to give the ball to Tom Brady, with only a few times needed to score the win.
It did not work. The Buccaneers play in the Super Bowl this weekend while the Packers are at home.