INDIANAPOLIS – Bill Belichick gave clear instructions to his defensive unit: Let the runner score.
Playing the odds and inviting critics, the calculating coach of the New England Patriots told his players to get out of the way, open a wide path for Ahmad Bradshaw and give Tom Brady a chance to win the Super Bowl in the final 57 seconds.
Unusual? Certainly.
Crazy? Not at all.
The strategy failed and the New York Giants won 21-17 on Sunday night. But Belichick was certain it gave the Patriots their best opportunity.
They led 17-15 with 1:04 left but had just one timeout as New York faced a second down only 6 yards from the goal line.
If the Patriots tackled Bradshaw, the clock would keep running if they didn’t use the timeout. If they did use it, the Giants could let the clock run after the next play, leaving precious few seconds with Lawrence Tynes setting up for a chip-shot field goal.
A field goal, Belichick said Monday, that had a “well over 90 percent success rate” from that distance.
And that strategy was used, although it also failed, in the 1998 Super Bowl by Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren against the Denver Broncos.
Still, it went against
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