Would Bill Belichick have botched Falcons game like Raheem Morris?

You knew this was coming. Raheem Morris’ clock management in the Falcons’ overtime loss to the Commanders has made its way to The Pat McAfee Show and Bill Belichick.

If you’re unfamiliar, not only did Morris botch the end of the game but also the end of the first half with poor clock management. On the first play of their final drive, Michael Penix Jr. took the snap with 40 seconds left and immediately put the Falcons in a good position by completing a pass to Darnell Mooney for 25 yards.

Mooney was unable to get out of bounds, and instead of taking a timeout, Morris, like a deer in headlights, watched as his offense scrambled to get to the line of scrimmage. By the time the clock stopped after the next incompletion, over 20 seconds had passed, leaving the Falcons with just 17 seconds remaining.

Eventually, Atlanta was forced to attempt a 56-yard field goal to win the game with replacement kicker Riley Patterson, who went on to miss the kick by about five yards. Very rarely do individuals get blamed for a loss, but Raheem Morris deserves to shoulder this one. 

“It’s mystifying,” Belichick said of the mismangement on The Pat McAfee Show.”I don’t know exactly what happened internally between the head coach, quarterback, offensive coordinator or whether a game-management person was involved.”

The Falcons infamously interviewed Bill Belichick and decided to hire Morris, which was rumored to be against Arthur Blank’s desire to hire the greatest coach of all time.

Belichick went on to talk about how he always preferred to save his timeouts for a potential field goal, while Tom Brady eventually convinced him that more time was more valuable than timeouts. Of course, situations should dictate decisions, but the fact of the matter is that Morris completely botched the club’s chances of a postseason berth with his time management.

With Brady, Belichick had another head coach on the field. That’s the benefit of a veteran. With Kirk Cousins, Morris had that. With Penix, the Falcons head coach had to be in total control. He wanted the operation to be faster with a rookie making his first ever road start? Buddy, get a grip.

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