Sean Payton is definitely one of the best coaches in the NFL, but he’s made better decisions than the one he made in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles today.
The Saints fell behind 33-7 before rallying for two touchdowns to trim Philly’s lead to 33-19. That was the score with 7:17 left and New Orleans facing 4th-and-7 at the Eagles’ 10.
Instead of going for it since his team was down 14, Payton strangely called on Brett Maher to kick a field goal. He made it, cutting the deficit to 11.
However, that still left the Saints down by two scores with barely over seven minutes left. The Eagles wound up scoring a touchdown on their ensuing drive to seal the win.
Not surprisingly, Payton has been ridiculed for his curious decision.
Did the Saints really just *KICK A FIELD GOAL* down by 14 with 7:14 left in the game? To turn a two-score lead into a two-score lead?
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@FO_ASchatz) November 21, 2021
#Eagles gotta be happy the Saints kicked that field goal
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) November 21, 2021
thank goodness the saints settled for that field goal
— Herb Jones for President (@JGFiegel) November 21, 2021
Again, Sean Payton?!
For the second week in a row, the #Saints kick a field goal trailing by double-digits late.
This week, the 4th and 7 field goal from the 10-yard line costs New Orleans over one-third of their win probability.
They’re still down 11.#NOvsPHI
— EdjSports (@edjsports) November 21, 2021
Analytics people around the world just simultaneously screamed at their TV when Sean Payton kicked a field goal down 14 with 7 minutes left. #Saints
— Ryan Paganetti (@PaganettiRyan) November 21, 2021
Congrats to Sean Payton on making a two possession game a two possession game
— Bleeding Green Nation (@BleedingGreen) November 21, 2021
Great job by Sean Payton cutting the Eagles’ two-score lead to a two-score lead with that field goal.
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) November 21, 2021
You can debate about what the analytics say to do in certain game situations. This seemed clear-cut though; New Orleans needed to go for it.
Now, they might have lost anyway, even if they scored a touchdown on that drive to make it a one-score game. But they didn’t even give themselves a chance by settling for three.
We’re not sure what Sean Payton was doing. It made less than zero sense.
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