The Stupidity of Going For TwoI can see it late in the game, but too many teams use it inappropriately, as illustrated in todays
Miami-New England game.
Miami was leading 7-6 when New England scored a touchdown to go up 12-7. Rather than take the automatic point to go up 13-7, they tried for two and failed.
Sure enough, New England scores on a field goal, to go up 15-7, which, again would have been 16-7 if the Patriots had just taken the automatic PAT. Miami responds with a field goal of their own, cutting the margin to five. So when they follow that up with a touchdown, they are forced into going for the two-pointer, because there is no real difference in the NFL between a two and a one-point lead late in the game in the NFL, while there is a big one between two and three points. Regardless of the merits of the strategy, the play failed.
Ironically, that set up the final two-point conversion attempt. The Patriots scored another touchdown, putting them up by five points. Since there is not a lot of difference between being up by five or six points late in the game, but there is a big difference being up by seven points, the Pats went for two.
And failed again.
