Written by: Tyler Deakin
I’m a big podcast listener, and one of the shows that I frequently listen to is NFL: Move the Sticks. The hosts are former pro scouts Daniel Jerimiah & Bucky Brooks, and they provide fascinating insight into NFL scouting, trends, and developments from around the league. One of Brooks’ favorite quotes is “offensive success is about players, not plays.” What he’s essentially saying is that while coaching & offensive play calling are important to offensive success, it’s just as important to give your best players the football in crucial in-game situations. I believe that he’s correct in his assessment, so I will explore this topic further. Specifically, I will look at key plays from this season & put them under the microscope to determine why they were successful.
Ravens 4th & 1 vs. Chiefs (Week 2)
You can watch the play here at the 8:30 mark
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has a huge decision to make, leading 36-35 against the Chiefs with a 4th & 1 call from their own 43-yard line. He’s considering going for it, so he asks his former MVP quarterback if he shares similar sentiments. Lamar Jackson replies that he definitely wants to go for it to try & win the game. Now that the decision has been made, Harbaugh has to figure out what play he wants to call & which player will be getting the ball. His play call is brilliant, allowing Lamar Jackson to “call his own number” and run a quarterback option that picks up the first down to ice the game. Why did this play work? He put the ball in his best player’s hands and trusted him to go win the game for the Ravens in crunch time.
Giants 1st & Goal vs Saints in overtime (Week 4)
You can watch the play here at the 12:25 mark
This situation is less dire than the one described above; however, head coach Joe Judge needed to find a way to win the game in a 1st & goal situation from the Saints 3-yard line in overtime. The Giants had much more success throwing the ball (402 yards) than running the ball (80 yards) against the Saints that day. Another pass here would be an ideal play call, right? Wrong, because the Giants have RB Saquan Barkley who was effective on limited touches. Plus we all know what happened in Super Bowl XLIX when the Seahawks threw the ball at the goal line instead of handing it off to Marshawn Lynch. Therefore, the Giants ran the ball with Barkley & he broke tackles for the touchdown! Some might say this was a bad play call that fortunately worked out; however, I believe this sequence showed great situational awareness by the G-Men.
Chargers 1st & Goal vs. Chiefs (Week 3)
You can watch the play here at the 14:25 mark
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley said the following in his post-game interview after beating the Chiefs, “I felt like [QB] Justin [Herbert] having the ball in his hands would give us the best chance to win the game, not just compete in the game.” Herbert is the Chargers best player, so what type of play do you suppose that Staley called in a tie game (24-24) with the ball on the Chiefs 4-yard line? You would be correct if you said a passing play, and Herbert delivered a jump ball TD to WR Mike Williams for the win. Williams isn’t the Chargers best player; however, he is a jump ball specialist with size (6’4”) who was the Chargers leading receiver on the day (7 catches, 122 yards, 2 TDs). Target your best players & let them go win you the game.
Washington 1st & 10 vs. Falcons (Week 4)
You can watch the play here at the 12:40 mark
This play went completely off script, which occasionally happens over the course of NFL games. The Washington Football team was down 22-30 against the Falcons late in the 4th quarter with the ball at Atlanta’s 17-yard line. They needed at least 8 points to tie the game, and more than 8 points to win the game which they eventually did. Plays such as this one were critical in the final result, as QB Taylor Heinicke escaped the pocket to his right & unleashed a prayer of a jump ball to stud WR Terry McLaurin while falling to the ground & avoiding a sack. Fortunately for the Football Team, McLaurin came through for them with an incredible TD grab! Obviously the play call & coaching in this scenario went out the window, and so this was two great players making a play, albeit with some questionable defense also a contributing factor in the outcome.
Closing Thoughts
I was fascinated in researching this topic, and glad to find relevant in-game clips that demonstrated exactly what I wanted to discuss here. What I’m trying to say here is that while play calling & coaching do matter in terms of winning games on offense, these concepts aren’t the only ones that matter in the recipe for offensive success. Handing your best players the football through great play calling & coaching them up to go win you the game is the ideal formula for winning football games on offense. There are times like the Saquan Barkley play where the play call isn’t ideal, and yet since it was the offense’s best player receiving the football they make it work anyway. Alternatively, there are times like the Mike Williams play where the play call is perfect & it schemed the offense’s best player wide open to win the game. Great players find a way to make great plays in crunch time, and it’s really as simple as that in football.
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