It looked like the Falcons had done just enough to win Sunday’s game against the Browns. As it turned out, they left Cleveland just enough time to turn that victory into a defeat.
On second and nine from the Cleveland 42 with 1:03 to play, the Falcons gained seven yards on a passing play. Coach Mike Smith promptly called for a time out, leaving 55 seconds on the clock as Atlanta faced a third and two from the Browns’ 35.
On the next play, quarterback Matt Ryan threw deep to receiver Devin Hester. The pass fell incomplete, stopping the clock with 49 seconds left. With the down marker now showing a “4", it was time for Matt Bryant to convert a 53-yard field goal.
He did. And the crowd went wild. And owner Arthur Blank, who had migrated to the sidelines, was happy.
And then the Browns got the ball back with 44 seconds left. And that ended up being just enough time -- especially with three time outs on the board -- to drive into position for the game-winning field goal.
Smith has received plenty of criticism for his mismanagement of the clock in the aftermath of the team’s seventh defeat of the year. After the game, Smith attempted to explain his reasoning to reporters.
“Again you can definitely ask that question,” he said regarding the wisdom (or lack thereof) of burning the time out. “Fifty-three yarder was outside the range we had set prior to the game. We wanted to get a first down. We had a play, that’s why we called the timeout. Came over and used it. They would’ve used the timeout probably if we hadn’t, so . . . .”
If the Browns had used a time out, they would have had one fewer time out for their final drive -- so why not make them use it? If they didn’t use it, the clock would have ticked down to under 30 seconds before the third-down play.
Either way, calling the time out resulted in more time on the clock for the Browns and one more time out for Browns coach Mike Pettine.
While it’s challenging at times to make the right decision when in real time, especially as that real time is ticking away really loudly like the opening of 60 Minutes through a megaphone, managing the clock represents one of the primary game-day duties of a head coach. Nothing will hasten the cessation of head-coaching duties faster than a failure to manage the clock properly.