When you play not to lose, you lose (NFC Championship game edition)

Incredibly poor mindset by the Packers who, led by their coach, played not to lose instead of playing to win:  

1) 4th and goal from 1-2 feet in the first quarter. I can somewhat understand kicking the FG at 4th and goal fron the 2 on the next series, but from 1-2 feet, are you kidding me? You have to be aggressive to win the NFC championship game against the best team on the road, with the best D. When you have an opportunity like that, you have to go take it...

2) In the 3rd quarter, the Seahawks faced a 2nd and 31. They had a ten-yard run, but still faced a 3rd and 21. At this point in the game the Seahawks had been absolutely horrendous on offense and the score was 16-0 in favor of the Packers. The Packers D had been dominant. So what did the Packers do? They rushed 2, sat back and Wilson had about 7 seconds to complete a 30-yard pass that led to their first points a few plays later... 

3) The Packers completely avoided Richard Sherman, the all-pro CB for the 'Hawks in the first game of the season. Then on the 1st drive of the NFC Championship game, he intercepted Aaron Rodgers in the end zone. He is good. I get that. But then, he hyper-extended his elbow early in the 4th quarter. Essentially he played the 4th quarter with one arm. And not once did the Packers run a play in his direction in the 4th quarter to see if he could defend a pass or make a tackle...

4) With 5:13 left in the 4th quarter, R. Wilson threw his 4th interception. M. Burnett intercepted that pass with plenty of room to run, but instead went down. What??? That was unbelievable. He could have run the ball easily into Seahawks territory. Click here to see how much room he had to run...

5) After that interception, here are the next three plays by the Packers: 
(i) Run for loss of -4 yards
(ii) Run for loss of -2 yards
(iii) Run for 2 yards
Where kind of play calling is that to win the game? If you want to take time off, try a screen pass, a bootleg swing pass, something. This play-calling was beyond conservative and led to... 

6) When the 'Hawks got the ball next, they were still down 19-7. They had been dominated by the Packers D for 56+ minutes. So what the Packers do? They offered the 'Hawks a nice, cushy prevent D from the Packers. Not the D that had shut them down the entire game. The 'Hawks promptly went down the field and scored a TD in just over a minute... 

Look, if the Packers had stopped the 'Hawks on either the unbelievable 2-point conversion or the onside kick, the would have won the game. The players have to execute. I understand that. 

But coaches have the responsibility to put their players in positions to execute and win. And looking at the evidence, the person with most culpability for the Packers collapse yesterday is Mike McCarthy. Answer this question: would Belichick and the Pats done any of the 6 situations above? No. As much as I dislike the Patriots, they are champions because they go out and win games. They dont play to lose. Playing not to lose is an excellent recipe to lose...   

Bill Barnwell of Grantland writes, "...Mike McCarthy is one of the worst in-game managers in the league..." After what I saw yesterday, I can't argue with that assessment.