Falcons’ Late-Game Decisions Under Scrutiny After Overtime Loss
LANDOVER, Md. — In the world of professional football, every decision counts, especially in the final moments of a game. This was evident on Sunday night when the Atlanta Falcons faced off against the Washington Commanders. Falcons coach Raheem Morris found himself reflecting on a critical decision that could have altered the outcome of the game. With the score tied late in the fourth quarter, Morris opted not to call a timeout after a key first-down catch, a choice he later admitted “could have” been a better decision than running a hurry-up play.
The Falcons were forced to attempt a challenging 56-yard field goal by Riley Patterson, who had only recently joined the team. Unfortunately, Patterson’s kick fell short with just two seconds left on the clock, sending the game into overtime. The Commanders capitalized on this opportunity, securing a 30-24 victory with a game-ending 2-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Zach Ertz.
“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,” Morris explained. “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.”
Breaking Down the Final Drive
On the Falcons’ final drive in regulation, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. connected with wide receiver Darnell Mooney for a 25-yard first down to the Falcons’ 44-yard line with around 34 seconds left. Despite having two timeouts remaining, Morris chose to keep the clock running. On the subsequent play, Penix threw an incomplete pass to Mooney with 17 seconds left.
Morris acknowledged that he “probably could have” stopped the clock after the Penix completion to Mooney but was hoping to “save that timeout.” He elaborated, “I thought we could get to the line of scrimmage and run our operation a little faster there.”
Following this, Penix threw incomplete passes to wide receivers Drake London and Mooney, leading to Patterson’s missed long field goal attempt. It’s worth noting that Patterson’s career-long field goal was 53 yards, and he had only been with the Falcons since Week 16, following Younghoe Koo‘s placement on injured reserve due to a hip injury.
Player Reactions and Reflections
- Darnell Mooney: “You can say, we can call a timeout right there, but you can say I catch the ball, go down the sideline and go score,” Mooney said. “Either way. Whenever something negative happens, you look back and be like, ‘Oh, we should have hit this.’ You can just have a negative with any situation.”
- Michael Penix Jr.: “He calls the timeout whenever he feels fit and he trusted us to get a play off and make the next play,” Penix said. “So, we all trust Coach’s judgment on that.”
With this loss, the Falcons’ record falls to 8-8, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. To secure a spot in the postseason, the Falcons must defeat the Carolina Panthers next week and hope for a victory by the New Orleans Saints over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, if they lose to the Panthers or the Bucs beat the Saints, the Falcons’ season will come to an end.
Veteran defensive lineman Grady Jarrett summed up the team’s feelings, saying, “We put ourselves in the situation. We was this close to controlling our destiny and we let it slip. And that’s the reality of it. We got to let it hurt. We got to let it burn.”
Originally Written by: Marc Raimondi
