is how off Max was that game. If you go back and watch, you'll see Utah should have had 4 picks.... in the 1st quarter, but luckily they dropped a few. The play-by-play isn't telling you about that particular item, which is material to this discussion. That should have been a clear sign, at least to take more of a run-first approach. If the run fails to work, OK, I relent, you need to start throwing. But your RB is running at will and your QB is obviously off, why not press it hard on the run?

To your point about the Defense, successfully running the ball tends to lead to longer drives (unless you're Oregon and you run for an average of 30+ yds/play) than successfully passing, giving your defense even more rest.

We end the game with 41 passes and 30 running attempts. How many of Max's 7 rushes were actually passes that ended in scrambles? I don't remember, but probably at least a few.

Again, my big issue with the whole thing is Max's problems were crystal clear in the 1st quarter, it should have been time to abandon the pass at that point.

We should have easily ended that game with more rushing attempts than passing attempts.