Philadelphia Eagles: Why Doug Pederson Shouldn’t Have Gone For Two

The Philadelphia Eagles were more likely to win in OT than the Ravens.

In the event that the Eagles won the toss, they had been running the ball with absolute impunity. Ryan Mathews averaged over 6 yards a carry (remember when he got the ball on the first 2-pt attempt? Did that attempt work? Oh yeah…). The depleted offensive line found dominance in the run game. And, given the time-of-possession skew, the Ravens defense was tired.

The Eagles’ offense had the gas to drive the ball down the field and at least kick a field goal, putting the onus of victory in the hands of the defense. Speaking of which…

In the event that the Ravens won the toss, the defense should have held. They had given up chunk yardage all day but had shown resiliency, forcing turnovers and holding the Ravens to field goals. They had already caused two turnovers in the game–I can’t remember the last time that happened. The pass rush had flashed.

More importantly, the entire team would have been infused with energy by the rookie’s gutsy, game-tying drive from finally battling back from a fourth-quarter deficit on the road. The Eagles hadn’t yet, all year, fought their way fully back into a game–they’d only given them up late. Imagine how they would have felt. They would have the advantage over the Ravens’ offense.

In either eventuality, the Eagles had the edge over the Ravens in overtime. So take the game to overtime.