Going for 2 at end of game situation

I'm going for two in everyone of those situations where If I convert I'm up 3. Taking a PAT late in the game there is a waste of a point because a field goal still beats you, just like not converting the 2pt. Going up 3 takes a little pressure of your defense because they aren't put in a position to play absolutely perfect and keep them from gaining 20 to 40 yards total. A field goal doesn't kill you unless you only took the PAT. The only choice is to go for 2.

Kickers... that must be nice. We always go for 2. (Got tired of watching the ball get kicked into the back of the lineman). But to answer the question, probably depends a bit on the team we're playing. If they're a slow/control the clock team, I would do it at any time in the 4th quarter; against a hurry up team, probably around the 4 minute mark.

At any point. I am pretty aggressive in point after attempts and 4th downs. I usually stick to the chart for 2 pts. until we hit the 21+ mark, if we hit it at all. 

Here is the chart I use.

When To go for 2

Behind by
2 5 10 16 17

Ahead By

1 4 5 11 12

behind by 17 is an odd one.

Here is my current one:
+1, 4, 5, 7, 12, 15, 19

-2,5,9,10,12,13,16,18,19,20,23,26

About to deep dive back into this.

Being ahead by 1 when you score and go up 7 is a pretty interesting one.

Top is when leading by that amount, bottom is when trailing by that amount

I understand what the top and bottom meant.


Why are you going for 2 when down 1, 4, and 11?

If you don’t have a kicker, it’s not really worth considering… and you will actually be working out better in the long run if you make anywhere over 50% of those. The problem is that you may not get 50% in a close game, but it’s really not a bad idea to just save time and cut out FG altogether when you don’t have a kicker.

I don’t know how many times we just ran QB sneak (successfully!) on 2 pt attempts when I was OC at a small school. Even with a weak, patchwork OL, it was surprisingly effective and our OL’s favorite play. Our little freshman QB wound up leading the conference in scoring because we’d just sneak it anytime we were within about 2-3 yards of the goal line.

The kicker issue reminds me… is there anyone out there who is a HS “kicker guru” the way that some people get that label with QBs? It seems like the only schools around me with consistent FG threats year after year are the big schools who happen to always be able to find one kid in 1500+ to kick for them. We had a kid at one school who was getting private lessons from a former NFL kicking coach and he was still awful. You never see former kickers getting into coaching the way that OL, QBs, and defensive players do.

After the 6 points, how much are you up or down. 

I like all that and I thought that would be your reasoning.


So just a couple of questions. Real questions. Not being a smart a$$ although it might come off that way.

So no playing for overtime other than down 3 and you have to kick a FG or down 8 and you score and the 2 ties it? Again, fine with me, just clarifying.

When down 11, why not go for 2 on the second TD? Meaning you are going for 2 so that a FG and TD wins. Why not wait until that second TD? Is it so that you know whether or not you made the two beforehand, so that you will know if you need to go for it the second TD or not? Hope to heck that makes sense what I am asking!

And if that is the case, seems like you would go for 2 when down 8. So that you would know what to do on the second TD.


For you, the question should really be, when are you going for 1. Ha. Just kidding. Sort of...
Obviously tied, you are going to kick to go up 1.


Interesting that you aren't going for two when up 7.


I like your philosophy and it is consistent.

You might just convince me.

I'll try to tackle this in order they were asked and not go off on a tangent. Also I love this kind of stuff because it helps solidify why I think the way I do, or might even change my mind with more specific thought about it. 

Correct. If I have an opportunity to win it I'm going to take it. I figure what good is overtime other than another opportunity to blow the game. Either I feel we are the better team and we have made a mistake letting them hang around, or we are punching way above our weight class and better end it now before they get their crap straight and end it on their terms. 

Down 11 I want to know what I need ahead of time as the game time winds down. Its like wanting to be on defense first in overtime. The less decision making you have to do the more confident you appear in your choices. Also, It's a bit of a psychological thing. We are dealing with teenage kids here, many of which have never even thought about winning a game on a game ending two point conversion, let alone how they would handle those nerves and emotions. Getting the conversion out of the way early allows me as a coach to be like "hey we need to execute this, but there is no pressure because we can make up for it later if something goes wrong". 

Trailing by 8, I'm taking the EXP, assuming I have a consistent enough kicking game, because then we are down 7 and all we need is a stop and a 2 point to win. If I go for 2 there, and we miss, we now have to go for 2 just to tie on the next score which introduces more psychological pressure into 15-18 year old kids. 

Up 7 I'm gonna choose the "lower risk" (again kicking game dependent) to go up 8 points. Now the other team has to be confident in their two point plays they may or may not have practiced in order to tie the game. If I go for 2 up 7 and miss then a score and two point conversion beats us.

When I'm trailing its about trying to end the game with a win as quickly as possible because it shortens the amount of time we are playing from behind. When we are Up its about elongating the amount of time we are playing with a lead or are tied as it puts more pressure on the opponent to execute. In the example about being up 7, going for 2 puts us at greater risk to lose more quickly than taking the 1 (again assuming that kicking EXPs aren't a roll of the dice as much as 2 pt plays are).

I guess 11 and 8 are 6 one way half a dozen the other. I can be talked into or out of it depending on the situation I suppose. Definitely something to give more thought in the off season.



An interesting thought on 1 play to end it all. I actually feel the opposite. I think there is way less pressure in something so binary. Either we execute or we don't and nothing else matters outside of that. It's not "we have to execute this in order to be in position the NEXT time we score to have to execute something else to maybe get the win". It's just do or die right now. Way less anxiety in my opinion.



Point after attempts are a really interesting phase in decision making. We have won a game this year going 1 for 3 on 2 pt plays winning on a conversion with 2 minutes left to play, and we have lost games by not converting and leaving points on the field.



We also don't have anything resembling a kicking game this year so its 2 pts all the time

I don't think anyone in the stadium has that go through their mind except coaches in the situation when you are down 8 and going for 2.

Plus if you don't get it, you still can win the game.


But I think everyone in the stadium including the cheer moms, band, and 95 year old grandmom all know what is at stake when down 1 and going for 2.