Gran’s conservative play calling on offense was called under scrutiny following the Cats’ defeat. As our own Nick Roush wrote after the game, the offense collapsed when it took the ball from Stephen Johnson. Between the final six minutes of the third quarter and the final drive of the fourth quarter, Johnson dropped back to pass the ball just three times. All three passes were far from successful – two were incomplete and the third resulted in a sack.
Still, Gran stood by his decision to resort to the run game.
“When we rush the ball, and if you’re the team that rushes the ball more, you usually win in this league,” Gran said after the game.