It was fourth-and-2 with less than five minutes remaining in the game, as the Chargers were shy just six yards from the endzone and trailed by 10.
Uncharacteristically, head coach Brandon Staley chose to take the field goal instead of going for the touchdown.
The call seemed timid and safe for a coach who is well-known for being aggressive in those situations.
“I felt like the certainty of points and to give ourselves a chance [was best.]” Staley said. “I felt defensively that we would get an opportunity for us to come back, score, and go for two to win.”
Yes, you cut the deficit with the field goal. However, even if the field goal is made, the team has to get a defensive stop, score a touchdown, get another stop, and hope to win at the end of regulation or overtime.
Staley chose to rely on his defensive unit, yet they did not get the stop.
“I felt like it was going to be a one-possession game and the certainty of points there was good,” Staley said. “I felt like with time being on our side, I felt like we could get a possession back and we would be able to go down there and score a touchdown.
We had all of our timeouts and the two-minute [warning,] and I felt like in that circumstance it was the right thing to do to truly make it a one-possession game.”
The Chargers’ defense couldn’t manage to force a punt from halfway of the third quarter onward. Consequently, they couldn’t get a stop on any of its final three series against the Vikings offense.
Earlier on in the game, Staley took another conservative approach. He punted after taking a delay of game on a fourth-and-4 from Minnesota’s 40-yard line in the first quarter.
Now, of course, we wouldn’t be analyzing Staley’s call if the Chargers had gone for it on fourth down and not scored. But, then, we’d be hearing about how he takes too many risks.
However, the lack of production on the offensive side of the ball could have ultimately been the factor in Staley’s decision not to go for it on both occasions.