One of the most overlooked aspects of the Thursday night preseason finale between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Carolina Panthers was the decision made by Panthers head coach Ron Rivera to go for the two point conversion following the 79 yard touchdown pass from Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen to undrafted wide receiver Lamont Bryant with 2:31 left in the game.
Rivera could of chosen to kick the extra point which would of tied the game at 17, but instead he chose to do everyone a favor and go for the win. Call it a gentleman type move as both teams new they had long nights ahead of them, and if Rivera hadn\’t seen enough of his third team unit by that point to base roster cuts off of, he picked the wrong career path.
The Panthers failed to score on the two point play, but ended up getting one final possession after the Steelers offense went three and out following the kickoff.
At that point it afforded Clausen the opportunity to run the two-minute drill one last time and four plays later kicker Justin Medlock had an opportunity to win the game for the Panthers again with a 50 yard field goal. He of course missed it, but at least both teams could then get on with long night that was ahead of them.
So kudos to Rivera, for not making a long night for the Steelers even longer. I am sure Mike Tomlin appreciated it.
