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Pretty straightforward question, but I can't fully decide where I stand: Is a tie in an NFL game just as bad as a loss? Technically speaking, a tie is like half a win, half a loss; it's a .5 on the record. In either direction depending on what you are comparing it to. But that's always still better than a full -1.0, right? It's just simple math.
So why in the world did Indy go for it on 4th down and 4, with only 27 seconds left on the clock in overtime, on their own 42? Here's the recap, starting from the play just before, and I'm sure you can guess what happened:
Texans vs. Colts Week 4 Highlights (link to YouTube video starts at play just before)
So Indy could have punted and all but guaranteed the game to end in a tie. Where they would have been 1-2-1 instead of 1-3. And also don't forgot, this was a divisional game so wins, losses and ties matter even more. This call could literally mean the difference between which of these teams wins the division and goes to the playoffs.
Indy going for it on that 4th down and not getting it almost assured them a loss. But they were already going to at best tie if they punted, and they wanted to win. Which was a real possibility. With 27 seconds and all you need is a FG, I actually totally understand the mentality of win or go home, we didn't come here for no tie.
Curious of what others think of this: if you were the head coach in that moment, what would you have done?