The latest edition of Sunday Night Football had anyone who has ever played a single game of Madden in their life screaming at the TV because of some horrid clock management.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris drew the ire of many football fans on Sunday. Tied late in the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders, Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed a pass near midfield with around 40 seconds left in the game, clock running. Morris, with two timeouts left in his pocket, opted to allow his rookie quarterback to hurry to the line of scrimmage and run another play, rather than calling a timeout.
The decision proved detrimental, with Atlanta having just 12 seconds left and two timeouts after the hurried play resulted in an incompletion. Two plays later, the Falcons are settling for a long attempt at a game-winning field goal. Kicker Riley Patterson came up woefully short on the 56-yard attempt.
It was clear to anyone watching that Morris could’ve saved his team several plays by calling a timeout after the first completion. Instead, the Falcons had little opportunity to advance the ball further down the field and attempt a shorter kick.
That frustration had Chris “Mad Dog” Russo in a tizzy during his radio show on Monday.
This is a little over 2 minutes of a 15 minute rant by @MadDogUnleashed going completely nuts about Raheem Morris not having a clue about how to coach a football game. pic.twitter.com/Y7uwG6cFPH
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) December 30, 2024
“With 40 seconds left with the ball at midfield and two timeouts, when you know you’re going to lose if (Jayden) Daniels gets the ball again in overtime. And you decide, if you’re Morris, who’s been around the NFL for a long time, not to call a timeout after you doubled down and you screwed up in the first half!” Russo said completely flabbergasted.
To make matters worse, the Falcons’ loss created some undesirable scheduling situations for his adopted network, ESPN, where Russo regularly appears. Had the Falcons won, the Commanders would’ve been in a must-win scenario against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18. Russo suggests that that game, had it mattered, would’ve gone to ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
“(Roger Goodell) was gonna give them Washington-Dallas on Saturday night so (Troy) Aikman and (Joe) Buck could do a big Cowboy game. Cowboys at home, you know, love to knock off Washington. There’d be a little juice in the building. Jerry Jones. Mike McCarthy. Dan Quinn going back to the Big D! And instead, Goodell you can’t get him off the phone. He’s more irate than you are because Morris screwed him too!”
Morris is an easy target after the Falcons’ latest loss, and rightfully so. The timeout mistake could’ve cost his team the game. But Russo brings up an even better point. A Falcons win would’ve created a lot more intrigue during Week 18 of the NFL season. The Commanders would be sitting at 10-6 with three 9-7 NFC teams right behind them fighting for a final Wild Card spot. Instead, the NFC Wild Card spots are locked up and the only question becomes who emerges from the NFC South: the Falcons or Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
So Mad Dog’s anger is directed in the right place. Us football fans are being deprived of competitive matchups because of clock management incompetency. How such a blunder can even happen at the NFL level is beyond frustrating, yet it seemingly happens all the time.
When fans sitting at home can manage clock better than a head coach, that’s a problem.
[X/@JimmyTraina]
