New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh explained why he was comfortable with his team going into overtime in their Week 5 game.
The Giants and Washington Commanders ended up in a 27-27 tie in a wacky Week 5 matchup that saw both teams blow the chance to win the game late in overtime, resulting in a rare tie for both clubs.
For Harbaugh, the Giants actually had the chance to take a 28-27 lead late in the fourth quarter, but instead of going for a two-point conversion, Harbaugh chose to kick an extra point and take his chances in overtime.
John Harbaugh Explains Not Going for Two-Point Conversion in Week 5
Speaking to the media the day after the Giants and Commanders battled to a 27-27 tie, Harbaugh explained his thought process behind going for an XP instead of a two-point conversion and heading into overtime instead of trying to win the game outright during regulation.
“It’s a great question, kind of in that sense of, what do you do? We definitely, I think generally speaking, theoretically, you go for two, then you see if you have to go for two twice and give yourself a chance to win the game in regulation. But the way the game was going, as we talked about it, I just decided that I wanted to put it into overtime, that if we got to that point, that I wanted to put it into overtime. So I didn’t want to take the chance on a two-point conversion. I thought overtime gave us the best chance. Plus, it’s a road divsion game, so the tie isn’t the worst thing for the road team. So I just feel like, all in all, I made that decision to go for one and go to overtime if it came down to two scores,” Harbaugh said.
“I thought overtime gave us the best chance. Plus, it’s a road division game so a tie is not the worst thing for the road team”
Giants Riding High Into Week 6
Despite tying the Commanders, the Giants still maintain sole control of the NFC East in Harbaugh’s first season behind the sideline in New York, as the team has a 3-1-1 record right now to lead the pack in their division.
The Giants next head back home and take on the New Orleans Saints in a Week 6 matchup that they also have a good chance to win. While the current odds for this game see the Giants as very slight home underdogs, it’s a winnable game against a mediocre Saints team that has proven to be very inconsistent this season.
The way these two teams match up, this could very well be a high-scoring shootout, but we’ll have to wait and see how the game plays out on Sunday.
Should the Giants win the game, they will improve to 4-1-1, which will keep them on top of the NFC East, but even if they lose the game, they would still be slightly in the lead. Right now, this Giants team — which missed the playoffs the last three seasons — is playing with house money, as Harbaugh has proven early on to be the perfect coach to turn the culture around in New York.
John Harbaugh Explains Why Giants Wanted Overtime in Week 5