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The Atlanta Falcons saw their path to a playoff spot go from slim to almost unimaginable on Sunday night with a devastating 30-24 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders, and they may well have the decision-making of head coach Raheem Morris to blame.
The Falcons came back to tie the game late in the fourth quarter on a remarkable touchdown pass from rookie QB Michael Penix to star tight end Kyle Pitts. They then proceeded to force a three-and-out and had a chance to win the game in regulation.
After a 25-yard pass from Penix to Darnell Mooney put Atlanta at its own 44-yard line with over 30 seconds to go, it appeared the Falcons were in business. But then Morris struck.
Darnell Mooney made a catch with 33 seconds and the Falcons, with two timeouts, opt against calling one and hurry to the line of scrimmage.
The ball wasn’t snapped until there were 17 seconds on the clock… poor clock management. pic.twitter.com/tXzxsy2kkP
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) December 30, 2024
Raheem Morris Badly Tries To Explain Away Timeout Usage Against Commanders
Mooney caught the ball with 33 seconds remaining and went down in bounds. The Falcons had two timeouts remaining at the time. But rather than use one, Morris elected to rush to the line and Atlanta didn’t snap the ball until the 17-second mark. Ultimately, the drive ended with the Falcons coming up short on a 56-yard field goal.
After the game, Morris attempted to explain his mind-numbing clock management.
“In hindsight, it could have been a good decision or a better decision to take that timeout, but I wanted to have the opportunity to move up there,” he said. “You always second-guess those things, you can always second-guess those motives. You can always go back and look at it and see if you can get it snapped a little bit quicker.”
Atlanta players were strewn across the entire field on the Mooney catch. Maybe the Falcons could’ve saved a second or two by snapping the ball quicker. But that’s the maximum. The only viable decision was to use a timeout. Instead, Atlanta and Morris went to overtime with a timeout still in-hand. They then proceeded to lose on the first drive in overtime without touching the ball.
Great call, coach!