Todd Bowles faced scrutiny from football fans on Sunday after going for two with his team down 14 points in the fourth quarter, with many countering that the smart play would have been to take the extra point, and if they found the end zone again, kick it again to tie the game.
C-Mac explained, using some rough math while setting the two-point try at a 50/50 chance of being successful while even giving the PAT a lock, why Bowles had it right.
“If you take the two-point conversions, you have a 50 percent chance to win in regulation, a 25 percent chance to lose the game, and 25 percent to go to overtime,” C-Mac said. “Which one benefits you? you have a 50 percent chance to win the game, and a 25 percent chance to go to overtime. Three out of four times, you’re guaranteed no worse than overtime. But you have a 50 percent chance of winning it right there instead of taking your chances in overtime.”
Two-point conversions have been on the rise of late in the NFL, with the numbers suggesting it may be worth taking the chance with PATs no longer automatic since being moved back. C-Mac says Bowles took the modern approach, and it was the right one.
“I want the chance to win,” C-Mac said. “Give me the 50 percent chance to win the game.”