Two Minute Drill

Last night’s (8/15) Monday night game, broadcast live on ESPN:

New York Jets (16) at Houston Texans (20)

The score was 16-13, Jets ahead, with 4:46 to go in the fourth quarter. Houston punted the ball and the Jets caught it at their own 18 yard line.

The commentator said the Jets would go into their Four Minute Offense. All the Jets needed to do was three things: 

1.                Keep the ball in bounds, to keep the clock ticking (the clock stops when the ball hits the ground or goes out of bounds);

2.                Make 1^st downs, to keep the ball in their possession;

3.                Take time off the clock. In football time, 4:46 is an eternity of time. If you don’t think so, clock how much time it takes to actually play that amount of time.

The Jets did not achieve those three goals. Houston got the ball back, and went into their Two Minute Drill. This refers to the final two minutes in each half, when the team with the ball, or the team who gets the ball, tries to score in the final two minutes of the half. This does two things (three if it’s a home game):

1.          It scores points;

2.          It gives the scoring team momentum to carry with them into halftime (if they score at the end of the second quarter) or into the next game (if they score at the end of the game);

3.          If they are at home, it gives the home crowd something to cheer about and keep their enthusiasm for their team high.

Sunday night I watched the replay of the Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys game (originally played Thursday 8/11). The ending was more exciting to watch than it sounded, and it sounded exciting. Dallas was down 23-16 to Denver; if they had scored a touchdown and gone for the point after kick, they would have tied the game and gone into overtime. Already with the ball in a scoring drive, Dallas used their remaining two minutes wisely; they were able to convert on 4^th down to keep the drive alive, and scored the touchdown. Opting to win the game outright, Dallas quarterback Stephen McGee passed the ball for the Two-Point Conversion and the go ahead score with 15 seconds left on the clock. Total time of the scoring drive: 5:29; 12 plays. Dallas won the game 24-23.

For more information about football, Football Basics - How the American Football Game is Played is available as a Kindle ebook at Amazon. Click the book title to purchase, or visit my website www.FootballBasics.net to read an excerpt of the book.