Washington tried a 2-point conversion while up 3 points against the Packers because of the wind

Washington and the Packers are locked into a tight game on Sunday Night Football. No lead, nor point, should be taken for granted. That’s why after Washington scored a touchdown with less than a minute left before halftime to take a 13-10 lead, everyone was scratching their heads when head coach Jay Gruden decided to attempt a two-point conversion instead of attempting what would have been an easier one-point extra point kick.

With a theoretical 4-point lead, Washington would have been able to weather a Packer field goal and still maintain a lead. Meanwhile, a 5-point lead doesn’t do them much good — the Packers would still take the lead on one touchdown or two field goals.

The reason why Washington would make such an odd decision? High winds have been wreaking havoc on kickers all day. There have been 11 missed extra points in Week 11, setting a post-merger NFL record.

Washington kicked an extra point after their first touchdown, but they scored in the first quarter. The wind was blowing against Washington in the second quarter.

After halftime, NBC’s Michele Tafoya said, “[Gruden] told me they went for two after the Rob Kelley touchdown because they didn’t want to kick in this wind.”

Gruden doubled down on Washington’s third touchdown of the game in the third quarter, going for two points and failing, which gave Washington a 22-10 lead that, while significant, can be surmounted by two touchdowns and regular ‘ol extra point kicks by the Packers.

If Gruden felt like Washington’s chances of making an extra point kick were worse than usual Sunday night, it would have made the two-point conversion more tempting. Even in good conditions, going for two isn’t the worst idea. Teams make two-point conversions at roughly 47 percent and hit the (extended) extra point attempts at roughly 94 percent last season. If a team went for two points every time, they should come out even compared to kicking the extra point. Teams like the Steelers frequently forgo the single point to go for two.

That doesn’t really excuse Gruden, because 14-10 vs. 15-10 is essentially a wash, and being up only 13-10 is potentially problematic. The wind has been messing with teams all day, however, and it appears he caught a glimpse of the damage before Washington took the field.

UPDATE: Washington scored a late fourth quarter touchdown against the wind to go up 35-24, attempted an extra point kick and doinked it off the upright.

So perhaps Gruden was wise.