Re: Two minutes left, would you rather be down 4pts with the ball or up 2pts defendin
The eagles SB was won by the defense at the end....
I also think of the Rams Titans superbowl.....
I think using a few big games here and there is not the way to go on this discussion we would really need to compare all the games that fall into this scenario and just the big ones that stand out.
I will admit that maybe with Tom the offense could be the way to go but with most teams I'll take my chances and I think even still I might prefer the lead.
Personally, I'm just looking at the Pats for this discussion -
So, let's take a brief look at the track record of the offense and defense of the Pats this decade in these clutch situations.
Just to narrow it down, let's hold it just the playoffs:
The offense had clutch (we'll define as late 4th quarter drives to take the lead) in the following games:
01: AFCDG, SB
03: SB [twice]
06: AFCDG, AFCCG
07: SB
That's 6 games, and 7 clutch drives.
The defense had ANTI-clutch drives (relinquishing the lead) in the following games:
01: SB
03: SB
04: SB
06: AFCCG
07: SB
That's 5 anti-clutch drives by the defense.
Admittedly, the defense has had clutch stops, Eagles Super Bowl, Titans AFCDG come to mind.
Essentially, anytime the offense has gotten the ball with more than 50 seconds, tied or down by 4 or less in the Brady era, they've scored a go-ahead TD. Meanwhile, the defense has struggled mightily in the 4th quarter in these key games, even back when the defense was considered amongst the best.