Bill Belichick gave clear instructions to his defense: Let the runner score.
Playing the odds and inviting critics, Belichick, the calculating coach of the New England Patriots, told his players to get out of Ahmad Bradshaw's way and give Tom Brady a chance to win the Super Bowl in the final 57 seconds.
Unusual? Certainly.
Crazy? Not at all.
The strategy failed, and the New York Giants won 21-17 on Sunday, but Belichick was certain the decision gave the Patriots their best opportunity.
They led 17-15 with 1:04 left but had just one timeout as New York faced a second down from the 6-yard line. Had the Patriots tackled Bradshaw, the clock would have kept running if the Patriots didn't use a timeout. If they did use it, the Giants could let the clock run after the next play, leaving precious few seconds with Lawrence Tynes setting up for a chip-shot field goal.
A field goal, Belichick said Monday, that had a "well over 90-percent success rate" from that distance.
The same strategy was used, and also failed, in the 1998 Super Bowl by Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren against the Denver Broncos.
Still, the decision went against the competitive nature of the players.
"It killed me," said linebacker Brandon Spikes, who simply stepped aside. "When the call came in to let them score, I was kind of like, 'What? I'm here to do my job, and it's my job to play defense and let them score?' It was tough. It definitely was tough."
Bradshaw also had to fight off his instincts. As he approached the goal line, he tried to stop, but his momentum carried him across the goal line, even as Eli Manning yelled at him to go down.
"I tried," Bradshaw said, "but I couldn't do it."
So it was 21-17, and Brady had those 57 seconds to drive the Patriots to a touchdown. He had done it many times before.
Starting at his 20, he threw two incomplete passes and then was sacked. On fourth down, he connected with Deion Branch for 19 yards and a first down at the 33. Then he hooked up with Aaron Hernandez for 11 yards to the 44 before spiking the ball. The Giants then drew a 5-yard penalty, moving the ball to the Patriots 49.
Still a chance, however slim. With nine seconds left, Brady threw incomplete to Branch.
With five seconds left, there was just one option — a desperation pass into a crowd in the end zone. The ball got there but, with tight ends Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski nearby, fell to the ground and the Patriots' championship chances fell with it.
Belichick's strategy, sound though it might have been, didn't work out.
"He made a good decision," Brady said. "We left ourselves with a little bit of time."
Belichick's clear-the-way order was similar to Holmgren's decision in 1998. The score was tied at 24 when Holmgren let Terrell Davis score from the 1 with 1:45 left rather than allow the Broncos to run down the clock for a short-field goal attempt.
Brett Favre then led the Packers from their 30 to the Broncos 31. But after three straight incompletions, Denver regained possession with 28 seconds to go, and John Elway kneeled to end the game.
The decision by Belichick most likely will linger as fans debate its wisdom over the years. At least one person with a rooting interest, Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, knew it wouldn't work.
"I respect Tom Brady and the New England Patriots," he said. "He does a great job with the guys he has. But if that was Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers on the other side, with those big-play outfits, 57 seconds would have been plenty enough."
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