Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Every play from scrimmage in a football game can be viewed as an exercise bout. There is a limit to the number of plays an individual can withstand in the time frame of a game without performance decrement. Atlanta’s defensive unit exceeded that maximum and because their recovery periods were insufficient, New England was able to overcome a 25-point deficit. We reviewed data bases from several post-game sources and we also collected data from media outlets such as newspapers and interviews of key game personnel. The main findings were that Atlanta’s defense became fatigued under New England’s ball control offensive strategy. From a metabolic perspective, their comeback was keyed by Alford’s interception return for a touchdown—it made the score 21-0, but it also kept Atlanta’s defense on the field for 26 consecutive plays and likely precluded adequate metabolic recovery opportunities. It is inadvisable to promote a game strategy to purposely fall behind by 25 points. However, if a team’s offensive plan includes a competent running game, a high percentage short-pass attack, that same team can overcome substantial deficits if they are patient because defensive metabolic fatigue can negatively influence performance.