The Type Of Play That Really Makes You Think

Yesterday, late in the NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, a very strange play occurred. I missed it, because I'd switched to another game by that point, but I heard it recapped during the half-time of tonight's Chicago/Minnesota match-up and it made me go, "Huh?"

In the dying moments of the game, with the Eagles up 10-6 and in possession of the ball, one of the Philadelphia players had a long run and a clear chance to score a touchdown but instead knelt down at the Dallas 1-yard line. When I saw the replay, I was dumbfounded, as I couldn't imagine a scenario where such a move would make any sense at all. After all, had he continued on into the end zone, his team would've been up 16-6 (and then 17-6 if they made the extra point) which would seem to be an insurmountable lead that late in a game, and seemingly preferable to being up by only 4 points. So why stop short and take the knee?

To figure this out, I went looking on the World Wide Weeb and within minutes had my answer. The rationale, it seems, goes like this:

Since Dallas had no timeouts left, by retaining possession of the ball (at the opponents' 1-yard line), the Eagles were able to run out the clock and have the game end 10-6, ensuring victory. Had they scored (to go up by 10 or 11 points), the Cowboys would've gotten the ball back and had another chance to put up some points, albeit with very little time left on the clock. It's unlikely, but not impossible, that Dallas could've scored quickly to cut the lead, and then successfully completed an onside kick, after which they might've conceivably orchestrated another quick play or two to either tie or win the game! The important fact here, I guess, is that Dallas had no timeouts left. The Eagles had made a 1st down on the play that ended with the kneel down, giving them a whole new set of downs during which they could simply kneel and run about 40 seconds off the clock for each down.

It's the sort of thing that you really have to understand the game to appreciate, and having thought about it now, I think it was brilliant (and very selfless on Westbrook's part)! I love stuff like that!