Ron Rivera costs Panthers a win by going for late 2-point conversion

The Carolina Panthers entered Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions looking to bounce back from an ugly Week 10 loss, but a lack of trust from head coach Ron Rivera in his kicker resulted in the team coming up short again.

After the Panthers scored a touchdown to cut Detroit’s lead to 20-19 with just over a minute remaining in the game, Rivera opted to go for a two-point conversation rather than kicking the extra point and tying the game. The decision backfired, as Cam Newton was unable to find an open receiver. Carolina did not uncover the ensuing onside kick, and the Lions kneeled the clock out for the win.

Why did Rivera opt to go for the win rather than playing for overtime? For starters, he may have felt his defense wasn’t playing well enough to stop Detroit on the ensuing possession. If the Panthers tied the game at 20, they would have been giving the ball to Detroit with over a minute left and three timeouts remaining to get into field goal range and win the game.

The more likely reason, however, is that Rivera didn’t trust his placekicker. Graham Gano had already missed an extra point earlier in the game in addition to a 34-year-old field goal, so Rivera probably felt it was no guarantee that he would convert the extra point in that situation. Gano also missed an extra point earlier this season.

If the Panthers were 3-6 and had nothing to lose, Rivera’s decision would have made more sense. Some will commend “Riverboat Ron” for taking a gamble and trying to win, but the probability of an NFL kicker converting an extra point is extremely high even on a bad day. He can’t really argue that he didn’t trust his defense to get a stop, because converting the two-point attempt would have given the Panthers a 22-21 lead. Either way, their defense would have had to stop the Lions with just over a minute remaining to preserve the win. Playing it safe would have made more sense with a 6-3 team that is squarely in the playoff hunt.