Originally Posted by
CDMKMP
I normally like your posts on here but you are wrong which makes it funny that you're calling people idiots.
Harbaugh can decline the safety, kneel the ball, and win with close to 100% probability, with no risk to his players.
If he accepts the safety, he is now up by two scores. Seattle can onside kick, and onside kicks in the NFL (when the opposing team knows they're coming) are roughly 20% to succeed. I have no clue what the stats are for a post-safety onside kick though. Either way, it creates not insignificant chance that Seattle gets the ball. Big deal right, they're still down by two scores? Well now the defense has to trot out for potentially a whole series of plays, even if the outcome is all but decided. Worst case your guys get hurt when the game could already be over, or Seattle could miraculously score and force another onside (with another roughly 20% chance to get it.)
So even if Seattle's chance to overcome a 9pt deficit is .0001%, the chance of them winning if San Francisco declines and kneels the ball is higher, no matter how marginally. AND he doesn't have to risk any more non-kneel-down plays at all.
And don't give me this shit about how points matter in the end of year tiebreakers. They are at least the 8th level of tiebreaker criteria, so there is almost no chance of it ever coming down to it anyway, let alone for 2pts. Even more so compared to the chance of players getting injured on plays they don't have to be out there for.
You have to think about it like a coach, not a gambler. Taking points off the board wins the game immediately, end of story. WTF does Harbaugh care if he wins by 9 or by 7.