Odd football situation; team with the ball is up one and can run out the clock. Should the other team let them score, let them go up 8 (assuming a made PAT) and have a shot of getting a two-pointed touchdown to force overtime.
That's happened more than once; other less-score specific situation will have offences (or defences en route to a "pick six") pass up a score to down it inside the five and run out the clock; if they score, the other team gets the ball back and could win.
Arizona was on the wrong end of a 7-6 score against the Jets, and the idea of letting the Jets score hit Darnell Dockett the wrong way. He reportedly spat at a teammate during an argument over the merits of a matador defence; the team lighted his pocket book "six figures."
Folks are trained to compete and to do things well, but there are times where deliberately screwing up can be helpful; the case of the Georgia player in the SEC title game who caught a pass in the flat and was tacked at the 5 for the last play, since the Dawgs were out of time outs. He would have been better off dropping the pass and letting his team have a clean shot at the end zone. However, you don't drop passes if you can help it; the instict of catching a pass and making the best of the situation is too strong to easily turn off.
Intereceptions on a long fourth down pass are another instict area; they're better to knock it down and get the ball at the line of scrimmage, but they much more offen get the pick and lose 20-30 yards of field position. That's also a reason why QBs shouldn't be too afraid to chuck a long one into traffic on third down; if it gets picked off 35-40 yards down field, you've essentially replicated a short punt.
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