Jonathan Gannon: No regrets with process to kick field goal in loss to Vikings
Dec 2, 2024, 5:08 PM
Among the many inflection points that turned what looked like a statement win for the Arizona Cardinals into a heartbreaking loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday was a decision from the sideline, one head coach Jonathan Gannon stood by on Monday.
Arizona kicked a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line to push its lead to six points but left more than three minutes for Minnesota.
A touchdown may have sealed the win for Arizona or at least created overwhelming odds for the Vikings to score twice in three minutes and 20 seconds. ESPN’s analytics model suggested going for it would increase the Cardinals’ win probability from 80.1% to 88.1%, for what that’s worth. The decision became especially controversial after the defense failed to execute in keeping the Vikings out of the end zone.
Gannon said he had “no regret” with the choice to kick the field goal.
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“We look at every decision after games,” Gannon told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Monday. “If it works, if it doesn’t and I felt really good about our process to get to that decision. Obviously, I understand the scrutiny because it didn’t work out, because we ended up losing the game, but at that moment in time, I thought that was the best thing to do to try to win the game.
“Credit to those guys making some plays down the stretch, where we got to be a little bit cleaner. But I really like the call there.”
He put the onus on Minnesota to score seven and after the Vikings converted on a game-saving fourth-and-7, they did. Had Minnesota needed three, maybe its aggression to go for it changes.
The Arizona defense had a day to limit the Vikings to six points midway through the third quarter.
The unit faltered late, but its success was one of many factors in why Gannon decided to kick. Had Arizona been closer to the goal line, the offense would have stayed on the field, although Gannon did not specify how close it needed to be.
The context for why Arizona settled for three is notable, as two penalties after it had first-and-goal from the five-yard line proved costly.
“You take all those considerations into play, there’s a lot of factors that go into decision making,” Gannon said. “I call them decision points in the game, and some are kind of non discrete. Some stick out to everybody. But there’s no doubt about it. I wanted to give our defense a chance to win the game, which we had some opportunities and didn’t get it done.
“They made more plays than us, but I thought that the defense was playing extremely well, had confidence that we’re going to be able to get off the field there and win the game. And we didn’t get it done.”
