A better analogy would be Trump winning three out of four quarters of a football game by less than 7 points each, while Clinton won one quarter by 21 points. Clinton ends with more points overall, but Trump won more quarters, so won the game.
They both knew that whoever won more quarters would win the game, but the final score still had Clinton ahead by a few points.
That being said, that is no excuse for how she strategized, nor for her weakness as a candidate. She was widely disliked, for many valid reasons, and put far too much weight in optimistic polls.