John Fox's decision to play for overtime in the Denver Broncos' double-overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday was hard to make sense of when it happened. The decision isn't looking any better as time passes.
Following Jacoby Jones' stunning 70-yard touchdown reception that tied the score late in regulation, Fox called for Peyton Manning to kneel on the football with 31 seconds to play.
As the Atlanta Falcons proved one day later, getting into field-goal range isn't always so much about time as it is execution. In theory, the Broncos hired Manning for just such a moment, and the quarterback had the weapons to quickly move downfield.
Instead, Fox chose to put his legendary quarterback on ice. Fox explained his thought process Monday.
"(The Jones touchdown) was pretty devastating," Fox explained, via the Broncos' official Twitter. "It just didn't seem the right time ... to go for the jugular."
On NFL Network
NFL Replay will re-air the
Baltimore Ravens' 38-35 win over the
Denver Broncos from the AFC divisional playoffs on Monday, Jan. 14
at 8 p.m. ET.
Fox added in his news comference that he would call for a kneel-down 10 times out of 10 in the same situation, via Lindsay Jones of USA TODAY Sports. Broncos CEO John Elway backed his coach, saying he thought it was a "good move" to regroup and move to overtime. Jones reported that Elway avoided the question if he would have wanted to take a shot if he was the quarterback.
The "jugular" reference sticks with us the most. If there is ever a time to get aggressive, to go for the jugular, isn't it in the playoffs with everything on the line? Fox coached scared and might have ended up on the wrong side of an instant classic because of it.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
