The difference between winning and losing is remarkably close in professional football. Over the past five years, the most common margin of victory in an NFL game is a mere three points—a single deciding field goal.
This season, there were more games decided by one score than any other in the league’s history. In fact, half of this year’s playoff field wouldn’t have qualified for the post-season if those one-score games had flipped results.
What led to so many close games this season has been the subject of much debate among experts. Was it changes in the rules? The availability of better analytics for coaches? The availability of replay assistance for referees?
It’s hard to say.
To me, a far more interesting question is “In close games, when both teams have talent, what leads to some coming out on top and others falling short?”
I heard a commentator say during one of the NFL pregame shows that the difference between winning and losing at the highest level comes down to “near to versus here to.”
Oddsmakers contend that the single best statistic for predicting the winner of an NFL game is turnover margin—the difference between the number of turnovers a team creates (fumbles and interceptions) and the number of turnovers it commits.
A Harvard Sports Analysis study showed that a team that wins the turnover margin wins the game nearly 70 percent of the time.
Knocking the ball loose and deflecting passes are great defensive plays. They can keep the offense from advancing, but they don’t result in turnovers.
Talented losing teams knock the ball loose and deflect passes. However, they fail to recover the fumble or catch the interception. These teams were near to creating a turnover.
Talented winning teams also knock the ball loose and deflect passes. Only they recover the fumble and catch the interception. These teams anticipated where the ball was going to bounce after it came loose and were here to complete the turnover. That small distinction makes a big difference.
A similar premise applies to the art of being a good teammate.
Suppose you notice someone on your team struggling. You might extend a sympathetic smile or even offer a few encouraging words. But that’s the extent of your investment. You don’t do anything else that would suggest you view their problem as your problem.
In this situation, you are near to being a good teammate.
Like deflected passes, sympathetic smiles and encouraging words are nice. They’re appreciated. But they alone don’t necessarily remedy the problem.
Good teammates are invested in their teams’ and teammates’ problems. They engage in actions to remedy those problems. The extent of their engagement lets others know they are here to make a difference.
Football is often cited as being a “game of inches.” As Al Pacino’s character so famously said in Any Given Sunday, “…the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One half second, too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us.”
Being a good teammate isn’t just about going the extra mile; sometimes it’s about going the extra inch. That small extra step can lead to big results.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
