Winning the battle and losing the war
I rarely watch football games. And when I do, it's usually the disappointing Detroit Lions that have me perpetually hoping.
Yesterday, I caught the fourth quarter of the Ravens / Steelers game. The Ravens needed a win to help their playoff chances. The Steelers, with a win, would guarantee a playoff spot.
With just over a minute to play, the Ravens were trailing the Steelers by three points, had a third down with one yard to go on the Steeler's 10 yard line, and had the momentum required to tie or win the game.
I'm sure the Ravens' strategy was to burn as much of the clock as possible by getting that first down, and running down the clock to the point where they would either score the winning touchdown or at worst, score the tying field goal with no time left to play.
Instead, the Ravens got a "heroic" second and even third effort from Kyle Juszcyzk on that third down play, and somehow, he found his way to the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
With that touchdown, the Ravens handed Ben Roethlisberger the ball with 1:38 on the clock, and the rest, as they say, is history.
To be fair, Juszcyzk did what players are supposed to do. Play hard, strive for the goal line, and put forth that extra effort. But sometimes, players need to have a better situational awareness of the game, and sacrifice their own personal glory for the overall benefit of the team. Had Juszcyzk gotten the first down and not scored on that play, odds are the Ravens would have eventually scored and won the game. But, we'll never know for sure.