Seahawks lose in final second of Super Bowl-was it the right play call?
Game theory can be used to analyze all aspects of competition. In this case, we see the analysis of Pete Carrol’s choice of play during the final seconds of the 2014 Super Bowl. The Seahawks were within 5 yards of the end zone and have one of the best running backs in the league (Marshawn Lynch). Any average man would have given Marshawn the ball; after all, that would be the obvious choice! Carrol took a different approach to end the game and decided to throw the ball. Just about everyone in the United States who was rooting for the Seahawks or had no ties to a team immediately rejected this choice. The only reason this is true is because the pass was intercepted and the Seahawks lost the game. However, if this pass would’ve resulted in a touchdown they probably would’ve built a shrine to praise his genius football intelligence.
It is interesting to look at this situation from a standpoint of Game Theory. Most people were mad because it just makes sense to hand the ball to Lynch due to his reputation. In the article cited above, the author argues that the only reason Lynch has the reputation that he has is due to a mixed strategy used by Carrol throughout the whole season. This strategy utilizes both the pass and run game “randomly” to ensure a decent outcome from both. Wolfers continues to explain by explaining how in football, a coach must use a mixed strategy in order to keep the opposing coach from predicting any certain play. So, when the Seahawks were inches away from the goal line, he assumes that the opposing coach for the Patriots (Bill Belichick) would be expecting a run play and will set up his defense accordingly. So, by the process of using a “random” play call in order to keep opposing teams guessing, it was a better choice to pass the ball when running the numbers. However, in this case variables such as players deciding to deviate from the play or exerting more or less effort during a play are nearly impossible to predict. So, maybe he made the right choice and it was just by chance that the interception was gained off of a random inclination, but either way-his strategy failed in the end.
Patriots defensive back picks off Seahawks wide receiver to end the game in favor of the Patriots.