“I Was Equally Confused…”: Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson Question The Falcons For Not ‘Burning’ One of Their Timeouts

Raheem Morris made one of the most puzzling decisions of the season today, leaving fans and analysts scratching their heads. The Atlanta Falcons were in control of the game in the final minute, with a clear chance to win against the Washington Commanders. But instead of using one of their timeouts, Morris let 17 critical seconds tick away. This forced Atlanta to attempt a 56-yard field goal that Riley Patterson ultimately missed. The Commanders went on to win 30-24 in overtime.

Atlanta’s baffling clock management drew sharp criticism from Shannon Sharpe, who argued that the game shouldn’t have even gone to overtime.

“He’s looking at the clock. Ok, they caught the ball and didn’t get out of bounds. Use a timeout. You have two. Why would you let that kind of time go? Now you speed your QB up when you didn’t need to. I was confused by what Minnesota did and I was equally confused by what Atlanta Falcons did. You have two timeouts, take one of them. It just didn’t make any sense to me,” said Shannon on Nightcap.

Sharpe couldn’t believe that the Falcons failed to call a timeout after their receiver caught the ball at the 45-yard line and failed to get out of bounds. He emphasized that wasting those precious seconds placed undue pressure on rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

He compared the situation to a similar blunder the Minnesota Vikings committed against the Green Bay Packers by refusing to use their timeouts. Sharpe called it “foolish” not to use timeouts in critical moments, especially since they don’t carry over.

Chad Johnson agreed with his co-host and wondered if there is a person on the staff who informs coaches about the remaining time in the game and other variables.

The loss means the Falcons have no control of their destiny this season.

Why didn’t Morris call a timeout when the Falcons needed to?

After the game, Morris was questioned about his decision to not call a timeout with 30 seconds left on the clock. Especially since the team was in a favorable position, and, by saving time, the Falcons could have given Penix Jr. a better chance to move closer to the end zone. That would have helped the rookie QB set up a shorter, more manageable field goal attempt instead of the 56-yarder they ultimately missed.

Morris explained that he trusted his team’s ability to reset the drive quickly. He had intended to save the timeout for later to potentially extend the drive.

“Probably could have. I thought we could get to the line of scrimmage with our operation and be able to go faster there, getting up there without going under fast in our ball, trying to save that timeout. In hindsight, it would’ve been a better decision if we have taken that timeout,” said Morris.

The loss leaves the Falcons, who have an 8-8 record, 2nd in the NFC South after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ convincing win over the Carolina Panthers. Atlanta have to win their last game against the Panthers and hope that the Buccaneers lose to the New Orleans Saints to make the playoffs.