Why the Bears did not attempt an extra point on their final touchdown of the loss to the Saints

The New Orleans Saints thumped the Chicago Bears on Sunday to advance out of the Wild Card round. New Orleans won 21-9, finishing a point up on the closing 11-point spread.

And yet, it was a painful loss for Bears backers. If you bet the Bears +11, Mitchell Trubisky and Jimmy Graham all but ripped out your heart. The Bears were not going to win the game, but Trubisky and the offense kept pushing. They ran one final play as time expired and Graham hauled in a one-handed touchdown. He immediately ran off the field for the locker room after the score.

Normally, a touchdown score is followed by an extra point or two-point conversion. It did not happen in this case because of the context of the score. There was no time left on the clock, and because the extra point would not have affected the winner and loser of the game, the rule book states it shall not be attempted.