Does one bad play lose the game? (1 Viewer)

[bigdaddysaints]

I've always had a problem with 'we lost because of that one play'.

Sure if he made that field goal we would have won. Sure if he would have gotten that one yard we would have won, maybe if he didn't catch that long pass at the end of the game, we would have won...

They play 60 minutes of football (sometimes more). There are a number of plays in each game that, if changed, the outcome of the game would have been different. Every game that was lost by a close margin, the reasons we lost were multiple breakdowns throughout the game.
I guess most people need a scape goat.....

 

[KardiacKat]

Nice topic. I have always thought kickers and quarterbacks get more praise than they deserve for wins and more blame than they deserve for losses most of the time. Would you say that if a guy was 25 of 30 with two TDs "lost" the game because of one pick returned for a TD? But people do. Or a guy who is money on FGs all game, but he "lost" the game because he missed a 38-yarder you think he should have made? You should be scoring touchdowns, not field goals anyhow. Same thing goes for officiating. If you have legitimately sucky calls throughout a whole game, that's one thing, but one questionable call and you think that made all the difference? You shouldn't be in the spot that one call can make such a difference. Play the game. It's 60 minutes, four quarters, two halves. It's not one fourth-and-one play at the goal line.

 

[mikaloyd]

Does a great offensive play win a game?

Does a great defensive play win a game?

I dunno. But I guarantee some plays are WAY more important than others.

 

[mister pc]

the OP is correct that any number of plays could change the outcome. However i do think coming though in a crucial situation can win the game for your team, just as falling short in a crucial situation can lose the game. Typically these situations take place in the 4th quarter where close matches are decided. for example, one could say Karney lost that game in 2003 against the Jags (river city relay).

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

The correct answer undoubtedly is NO but what IS relevant is the timing of the play. A missed field goal, a blown coverage, a bad PI call, a bad officiating call, a fumble, a sack on a fourth down attempt, etc... if all of these things happen in the 1st quarter or even first half, then they can be recovered from during the rest of the game.

However, if these same events occur in the fourth quarter, particularly if the game is within 2 scores and there are less than 2 minutes left, then these are the plays that people will pin the loss on.

In a way, they are correct but only because of the timing of the plays. There were still 90% of other plays that were made.

If I play with the Lakers and I make 1 three point shot, am I the hero? Not if the three pointer was in quarters 1-3, maybe even in the beginning of 4 but if I make that shot as time expires and we win, then people are gonna remember my shot more than the other 99% of the game played. Timing appears to be everything.

 

[redlandssaintsson]

I agree. Play better and you'll win. Look at the last two Super Bowls. The team that played better football for 60 minutes won. No body lost because of one bad play.

 

[geauxboy]

It may seem like it in the interim, but no it does not.

 

[mikaloyd]

One bad play can lose a whole season.

 

[mikaloyd]

Sometimes a good play that would win a game can turn into a loss with a bad call.

 

[mikaloyd]

Sometimes home field advantage, weather, and a tradition of cheating makes all the difference between a win and a loss.

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[FLIPPY]

I seem to recall a certain fumble during a Tampa Bay game that seemed to have blown the game for us...

 

[Jared1979]

I seem to recall a certain fumble during a Tampa Bay game that seemed to have blown the game for us...

In most instances I agree with the OP, but I also thought of this case. When you have a game locked up and **** it up on one play, then yes, one bad play can ruin the game

 

[Danchrism]

I've never believed this. So you get the first down on third-and-1, call an ensuing bonehead of a play, throw a pick-six,


It's like the whole "that would have been us in that accident had we left two minutes earlier" theorem...

 

[brophy]

Typically it is 3 or 4 big plays in a game that make a difference between winning or losing.

A key conversion here, a crucial stop there. A turnover/takeaway.....a big special teams play (unaccounted for yards)...

And it could happen at any time of the game.