Panther head coach Frank Reich defended the decision to try a 59-yard field goal late in their 16-13 loss to the Bears on Thursday night, but he had a different view of the matter on Friday.
During a press conference, Reich reiterated that the numbers said trying the field goal was the right move and he said he believes that the team would have eventually won the game if Eddy Pineiro’s kick had been good. He also said that “in retrospect” he wishes that he would have made the decision to go for it on fourth-and-10.
“Give Bryce that moment, in hindsight,” Reich said. “The reason is that there was still time enough on the clock. Even if we get the conversion, we still have time to drive down and score. It’s easy to second guess yourself, I wish I’d gone the other way. I considered all the options, I went with the statistical play.”
Given the way the Panthers’ offense played on Thursday night, there’s plenty of reason to believe that the fourth down attempt would have failed and the result would have been exactly the same. Had things gone the other way, though, the Panthers might have gotten a win that changed the trajectory of their season.
That’s likely part of why Reich now wishes he’d taken the other path and it reflects how much the head coach need things to start going in a better direction in his first season in Carolina.
