The Atlanta Falcons' season may come down to one decision, when head coach Raheem Morris foolishly didn't call a timeout in the final moments of the fourth quarter.
After driving all over the field and scoring the game-tying touchdown to tight end Kyle Pitts with less than two minutes left in Sunday night's game against the Commanders, the Falcons' defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession. I decided to stop. It gave rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. a chance for glory to put his team in position to kick the winning field goal with 40 seconds left.
On the first play of the final drive, which started with 40 seconds left, Penix nailed Darnell Mooney 25 yards down the right sideline, giving the Falcons an immediate advantage.
Mooney was tackled in bounds, and Atlanta's offense, which had two timeouts left, began desperately racing toward the line of scrimmage to get a play-off as precious seconds ticked down.
Twenty-three seconds passed before the next play (an incomplete pass to Mooney) was completed, leaving Atlanta with 17 seconds remaining.
The Falcons were able to go for a 56-yard winning field goal, but Riley Patterson's shot fell a few yards short, sending Atlanta into overtime with a hole in the back pocket during a timeout.
Jaden Daniels made them pay. The Commanders' rookie quarterback completed a 70-yard touchdown drive on the first possession of overtime, giving Washington a 30-24 victory and a berth in the playoffs.
With the Falcons' loss, control of the NFC South returned to the Buccaneers, who won against the 5-11 Saints on Sunday to clinch the division championship.
“In hindsight, it might have been a good decision to take that timeout, it might have been a better decision, but I wanted the opportunity to get up there.” morris saidreports ESPN.com.
“You always second-guess things like that. You can always second-guess those motives. You can always go back and look at it and see if you can shoot it a little faster.”
With a win, the Falcons would have remained in control of their playoff destiny.
“Every time he felt like he was doing well, he called a timeout and trusted us to make the playoffs and make the next play,” Penix said after the game. “So we all trust the coach's judgment on that.”
Morris is in his first year as head coach after being hired by current North Carolina Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick in the offseason.
