On Sunday, the Ravens and the Cowboys provided stark examples on how to handle, and how not to handle, the final seconds of a close game in light of the current kickoff rules.
The Steelers and the Browns apparently learned nothing from it.
After the Browns failed to work the clock down to the final few seconds before what became the game-winning field goal, 10 seconds remained.
Like the Cowboys in Rio, the Browns kicked into the end zone, giving the Steelers the ball at the 35. (A cutaway to Browns coach Todd Monken seemed to reveal his dismay.) It opened the door for the Steelers, who had a timeout in hand, to try to gain just enough yardage to allow for a field goal that would have forced overtime.
From the TV copy, it appeared that the Browns were playing the same kind of outside leverage that the Cowboys deployed when the Ravens, who had only seven seconds to work with, gained 27 yards and kicked the walk-off field goal. That gave the Steelers a shot at completing a pass in the middle of the field.
But the Steelers didn’t call a play that would have entailed a quick throw for a moderate gain and a shot at a field goal.
Instead, quarterback Aaron Rodgers rolled to his right, looking to uncork a long throw. The pass, which came back to earth just inside the Cleveland 20, was intercepted. Game over.
Why not try for a 20- to 30-yard gain? Quick decision, quick throw. If it works, take the time out and try the field goal. If it doesn’t, let Rodgers try to connect on another Thursday night miracle.
Coach Mike McCarthy (or Rodgers himself) inexplicably opted for a middle ground, with a long throw that, if it had connected, possibly would have allowed for a time out and a short field goal.
The decision made no sense. The Steelers could have had two shots — a shorter attempt to put them in field goal range for overtime and, if that failed (without an interception), a Hail Mary to win it.
The 2025 shift of the touchback point from the 30 to the 35 has significantly altered the available strategies for the final 10-15 seconds of a game. The Browns repeated the Cowboys’ mistake by conceding the 35, and the Steelers failed to try to seize upon the very real possibility of using the final 10 seconds to gain enough ground to send it into overtime.