The Steelers went for two after their first two touchdowns to jump out to a 16-3 lead on Sunday, an unheard of approach in an NFL where coaches only go for two when they need the points late in games. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says they won’t change that approach.
“Oh, we’re going to keep doing it,” Roethlisberger said, via ESPN. “We don’t practice it this much to not do it. We practice it every single day. . . . I tried to tell you guys early on that we would do it, and I think you guys kind of didn’t quite believe it. But it’s something we feel comfortable with.”
The Steelers’ approach is smart: They’re 3-for-3 on two-point conversions while kicker Josh Scobee is 4-for-5 on one-point kicks. As long as they’re averaging 2.0 points per two-point conversion attempt and 0.8 points per one-point kick attempt, they’d be foolish not to keep going for two early in games.
The big question is why the Steelers are the only team going for two early in games. Every team should at least be thinking about going for two as the default approach after a touchdown, and for a team with a good goal line offense and/or a shaky kicker, going for two is the clearly superior choice. The Steelers should keep going for two, and other teams should follow suit.