Not really. The coaches bear a lot more
1 - Go conservative and give it back to the Ravens with over a minute to go
2 - Let them complete essentially a hail mary to tie it, and they were torched all game. WTH was that secondary doing?
3 - with 30 secs, take a knee and go to OT
Peyton made a bad throw in OT, but the coaches got them to OT
The third one is the worst one. You have PEYTON FREAKING MANNING (last int aside). By deferring to the OT, you might not see the ball again! In fact, this almost happened. Baltimore was moving the ball on the first drive and just barely missed getting a first down at mid-field. Their offense had momentum and could easily have scored a TD IMO.
I go back to what Bill Bellichick did in the regular season a few years ago....ahead by 4+ points, he went for it on 4th and 2 at his own 28, because he DIDN'T WANT PEYTON TO GET THE BALL BACK.
http://www.advancednflstats.com/2009/11/belichicks-4th-down-decision-vs-colts.htmlGranted that was when Peyton was at his peak with the Colts, and it was a regular season game that probably only affected home field advantage in the playoffs, but still....Fox can't even give Peyton a chance to lead them to a FG with 32 seconds left? That's a head scratcher for sure.
And a painful reminder of Dooley's similar decision vs. Missouri.