The Seahawks – and their fans – are still getting to know Mike Macdonald.
They learned more about the new coach Monday night, thanks to a decision he made in the second half. Seattle loses 42-29 against the Detroit Lions.
This made people wonder about what happened.
The NFL’s youngest coach and his team decided to attempt a two-point conversion while trailing 28-20 late in the third quarter at Ford Field. That is, rather than scoring the usual extra point to lead 28-21 with 18 minutes to play.
This represented Macdonald’s approach to analytics-based game management.
Macdonald, 37, has Seahawks research analyst Brian Eayrs in the coach’s booth during games as an analytical advisor. Eayrs has been crunching numbers and performing analytical analyzes of game situations for Macdonald for six months, shortly after the the team hired Macdonald to replace Pete Carroll as coach on February 1.
The two-point game in Detroit also raised questions about how the league’s officiating department handled the game, from NFL headquarters in New York to those officiating the game on the field in Detroit .
Kenneth Walker’s second of three touchdowns put the Seahawks within eight points of the Lions with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. On the two-point play, Smith threw a pass down the left sideline of the end zone just inside the goal line to DK Metcalf. The wide receiver made a remarkably athletic play to break away from Detroit cornerback Carlton Davis on the sideline and catch the pass.
ESPN replays from different angles showed the national television audience that Metcalf caught the pass with his knee appearing to land just inside the sideline boundary in the end zone. The toes of his cleats on his second back foot definitely dragged in the turf, well in bounds.
Upon further examination, it appeared that there were two feet in bounds, a legal catch for two points.
Linesman Rusty Baynes saw things differently. He stood a few meters from the room. Baynes, who has been an NFL official for 14 years and two Super Bowls, called Metcalf out of bounds and the pass incomplete.
It looked like DK Metcalf may have planted his right foot and knee inbounds on the Seahawks’ two-point attempt, but they didn’t contest it. pic.twitter.com/whkctEDqrV
-Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) October 1, 2024
Officials also ruled pass interference on Davis grabbing Metcalf on his outside break.
The Seahawks tried the 2-point play again after the penalty. Smith tipped the pass to Jake Bobo. The score remained 28-20.
Had officials ruled that Metcalf was a legal catch on the first conversion down, the Seahawks would have declined the penalty and trailed 28-22.
The Lions managed two runs, two more touchdowns to the Seahawks’ one, ultimately pulling away for the 13-point victory.
NFL Replay Review
All two-point conversion attempts, whether successful or unsuccessful, are subject to review by the league officials department with video replay. This is in accordance with Rule 15, Section 2(d) of the the NFL rule book. This rule states that “only the replay official or senior vice president of officiating or his or her designee may initiate a review” of a two-point play.
Macdonald did not use his coach’s challenge on the play. It appeared he was waiting for a replay from NFL officials.
This season, the league set up its official replay booth at games to conduct a quick review of replays to determine whether to stop the game and initiate a more comprehensive review of replays of close games at NFL headquarters in New York. York. If they did that in the two-point try Monday night, booth replay manager Gerald Frye inside Ford Field probably didn’t see enough to stop the game for a review more complete.
In Detroit, after Monday night’s game, Macdonald was asked if he thought Metcalf caught the two-point pass inbounds.
“It looked like it at first,” Macdonald said. “It’s tough. It’s moving quickly and the explanation I got was that they were looking at it, the stand was looking at it. And they confirmed that it was incomplete. So that’s what happened. pass.
On his weekly postgame show on KIRO-AM radio on Tuesday, Macdonald explained why he did not challenge the two-point play call.
“What was going through my mind was that we didn’t have a clear view of the situation from above, and they were looking at it in the booth,” Macdonald told the Brock and Salk Show at 7:10 a.m.
“In hindsight, you’re forcing the issue a little more, I suppose.”
The Seahawks trailed by eight points.
Mike Macdonald and the analyzes
Scoring two there allowed Seattle to chase points the rest of the game.
Of course, the way Depleted Seahawks defense missing six injured starterscouldn’t stop quarterback Jared Goff as the Lions’ offense scored 42 points, Macdonald’s team chased after all Monday night. The Lions took a 21-7 lead into the second quarter.
In Detroit, after the game, Macdonald said he scored two points to try to win the game in regulation.
“We were going to need another score anyway,” he said late Monday night, “so make it a six-point game.”
He spoke more Tuesday on KIRO radio about his reasoning for opting for two when he did.
“Without going through all the numbers, it favors picking two,” Macdonald said of the situation in Detroit. “Just play, at any given point (if) you have two opportunities to get a two-point conversion, (it) evens out.”
Macdonald meant that his and Eayrs’ analytical studies show that one out of every two two-point conversions in the NFL is successful.
The average conversion rate in the NFL from 2015 to 2022, for example, was 48%. It is by an ESPN story in September 2023 on teams who lost two points and eight points.
Macdonald explained that he wanted to win the game in regulation. At the end of the third quarter, he no longer wanted to continue to tie the Lions at seven before a possible overtime.
“If you get the first one, now you only need the touchdown (with the standard extra point kick) and that’s a path to winning the (regulation) game,” Macadonald said Tuesday, a few hours after the team lands at 4:30 p.m.
“If you only (make) one (of the two possible two-point tries), you’re now looking at going to overtime – and now you’re still on a 50-50 proposition to win the game.”
The loss gave the Seahawks (3-1) their third 4-0 start to a season in franchise history. They sit in first place by a game in the NFC West. They will have step-by-step training on Wednesday. They host the New York Giants (1-3) on Sunday at Lumen Field.
Four days later, they hosted the San Francisco 49ers, rivals for second place in the division (2-2).
“It’s NFL football. I think the only team that went undefeated was the 1972 Dolphins,” Smith said. “So we just try to go out there and win every game we can.
“(Monday night) we didn’t make it, but that’s why we have next week. So we’re going to improve, get back to it and prepare for next week.
