Watching Super Bowl XLVI, I noticed near the end of the game the New England Patriots allowed the New York Giants to score a touchdown uncontested.
At this point in the game, the Patriots were winning with only a few seconds left in the game, but instead of trying to prevent the Giants from scoring, they allowed them to score and ended up losing the game.
Why would a coach make this decision that would put his team in a position where they would most likely not be able to win?
In that particular situation, the Patriots were allowing the Giants to score because of 2 important reasons.
The Giants were already in scoring position - well within field goal range and
The Patriots only had a slim lead (2 points) - so a field goal from the Giants would mean they would be trailing and need to get the ball back and score again.
So they allowed the Giants to score in order to get possession of the ball back ASAP to try and re-gain the lead.
If you have great confidence in your players, and expect them to be able to make an equal score given enough time, then you may be willing to let your opponent score NOW so your team has more time for a score of their own.
Obviously this is a very, very risky decision. If you happen to not score on that possession (as the Patriots did) you lose the game. The counter argument is if the opponent runs out the clock and kicks a field goal on the last play, you'll lose the game anyway.
For what it's worth, the football community as a whole is divided on whether this was particular instance was a good decision or not.
This tactic generally really only applies to teams with offenses that are directed by a good/excellent Quarterback.
Teams like the Patriots, Giants, Packers, Saints (i.e. Quarterbacks with great accuracy/power, awareness, and most importantly; poise).
As far as that decision that was made it was based on the clock game, confidence in your players, and a calculated risk. If the Pats tried to hold the Giants to a field goal then sure the points gap would be smaller but so would the time on the clock. Coach Belichick has great confidence in Tom Brady and, based on how quickly they have been moving down the field, just hoped that that full minute was enough to score.
