The NFL can be a copycat league at times when teams see what works for one of their rivals and then co-opt some form of it for their own club.
It looks like something similar is happening around the league right now with the idea of going for two more often. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said on Tuesday that he would like the Steelers to try for two after every touchdown and Saints quarterback Drew Brees proposed a similar approach in New Orleans during an interview on Wednesday.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy joined in on Wednesday, citing the two quarterbacks who’d previously shared their thoughts as well as his own quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“Personally, I definitely agree with Ben and Drew,” McCarthy said, via ESPN.com. “I think especially with Aaron being our quarterback, I would have zero issue as an offensive coach going for it every single time.”
Going for two every time pays off for a team if they can make at least 50 percent of their opportunities to bring more points than simply kicking the extra point. McCarthy said he’s “comfortable that we could attain that very easily,” but added that there was more to the question -- he cited the defense and “development of your special teams” -- of how often to go for two than that confidence.
The Packers tried for two seven times, converting five, last season, but not after they tied the Cardinals on Rodgers’ Hail Mary to wide receiver Jeff Janis at the end of regulation in their divisional playoff game. The Cardinals would go on to win on Larry Fitzgerald’s overtime touchdown.