One data point is an anecdote.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins misfires on a late-game drive. Or his protection breaks down. Maybe both? The Vikings needed just a field goal to win — like, for instance, last year against Tennessee — but instead they lose.
Fans are left fuming. Cousins isn't clutch, they yell. The O-line stinks, they bellow.
Those of us more analytically inclined say whoa, whoa, whoa. We need a larger sample size. Just because something happened once doesn't make it true in general.
So we run the numbers and ... sometimes the anecdotes and eye test — those one-off reactions — turn out to match up with hundreds of data points.