San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy was not happy with the decision Ryan Mathews made to run out-of-bounds late in their 19-9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.
With the Chargers holding a 16-7 lead and 2:34 left on the clock, Mathews stepped out-of-bounds on a four-yard carry that allowed the Colts to save one of their three timeouts. McCoy was noticeably upset on the sidelines from the plays as he shouted at Mathews.
“I can’t repeat what I said on the sideline yesterday,” McCoy said, via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It comes down to, that could have cost us the game.”
McCoy saw first hand how critical such a decision could be while serving as the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator in 2011. In a December game against the Chicago Bears, Marion Barber stepped out-of-bounds for the Bears to save time on the clock for Tim Tebow and the Broncos’ offense to get one last shot. They came through as Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas for a 10-yard touchdown to force overtime. Denver then won in the extra session.
It was a “critical mistake” in an otherwise encouraging performance for Mathews. He carried for 102 yards on 22 carries for the Chargers.