By now, even the casual fan knows it's not really a gamble to go for it on fourth-and-short in opposing territory. It doesn't take a course in advanced analytics to know that.
That's why it didn't make any sense that, in the middle of making history by blowing a 10-point lead in the NFC championship game, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan never considered going for it on fourth-and-2 at the Rams' 45-yard line.
"We were never thinking about going for that," Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Bay Area.