Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts · chapter 1 · id thinking-in-bets-c1-07-carrolls-clock-management-forc

“Carroll's clock management forced the pass decision -- with 26 seconds and one timeout, Seattle could not run three consecutive times. A run on second down, if stuffed, would require a timeout and leave only one play.”

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Receipts

NFL.com, 'Seahawks' Pete Carroll explains ill-fated call in Super Bowl XLIX'source alive

Carroll explained the clock management: with 26 seconds left and only one timeout, a run-run-run sequence was not possible. Passing on second down preserved three chances to score.

Grantland, 'Super Bowl Wrap-up: What Was Pete Carroll Thinking?'source alive

Carroll saw a front stacked against a power run and a matchup he felt he could exploit with a short route against a rookie corner who had zero career interceptions.

FiveThirtyEight, 'A Head Coach Botched The End Of The Super Bowl, And It Wasn't Pete Carroll'source alive

Carroll's decision cost Seattle at most 0.3 percentage points in win probability.

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