Method · clutch@v1

Clutch

Fourth quarter or overtime, inside five minutes, with the score within eight points, close enough that one score changes the outcome. This is the window where reputations get made, so it is the window we grade.

The filter, exactly as it runs

(qtr = 4 OR qtr = 5) AND game_seconds_remaining <= 300 AND ABS(score_differential) <= 8

Parameters

`max_seconds_remaining`	300
`max_score_margin`	8
`include_overtime`	true

Where this is arguable

Eight points = one touchdown plus a two-point conversion. A 3-point threshold tells a different story.
Five minutes is arbitrary. Two minutes isolates true crunch time but shrinks samples hard.
Clutch samples are small. A single game can swing a season rate, so we always publish the play count.
This ignores whether the team was leading or trailing. See `clutch_trailing` for that split.

These are the objections I already know about. If you have a better one, or you think a different threshold tells a truer story, say so and I will re-run it with your numbers and publish what comes back.

Version 1. Older versions are never deleted, so a piece that citesclutch@v1 stays reproducible after this definition is revised. Source: Data: nflverse (nflfastR), CC-BY 4.0