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Originally Posted by FAX
I've been kinda confused about this ever since the notion came up earlier in the year ... our opponents talking about keeping the enemy offense off the field, etc. (Just like they used to talk about Brady or Rogers or Montana.)
I'm not sure there's a "right" answer, to be honest. You score when you can. Period. If that means a 12-play drive, fine. TOP is in your favor. If it means a 1-play drive, fine. Scoreboard is in your favor. The rule changes have altered the benefits of that concept a bit, however.
It might be different if you had no real confidence in your offense to be effective in a 2- or 4-minute situation. But man ... you don't take the points back when you score by accident while trying to slow down the game. No. You score when the opportunity presents itself ... because, in the Great Game, those opportunities are rare.
To me, it all boils down to what any particular team does well, how they're built, and what the situation is.
If we're playing 7 on 7, I'm going with Mahomes over Luck every time at this point. That leaves the rest of the question to be answered by the D and STs.
As for the Colts "recommended game plan", what we're seeing in the media is recency bias at its most pure. The last team to dominate their opponent is always the cat's meow. Every week. Mahomes, Tyreek, Kelce (and, hopefully, Sammy "Feets" Watkins) are dogs.
FAX
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The idea is that it's better for a lesser team to limit the number of possessions in a game because they have a better chance at the upset with a smaller sample size/shorter game. The more plays run, the more time the better team has to overcome any outliers.
Similar things happen in basketball with pacing, going for the upset teams often want a slower, more grueling game where they only need to steal a few points to win.