Steelers MMQB: NFL Week 12 Wrap Up

How not to handle your timeouts and the clock with the lead

Nov 23, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith talks with strong safety Kemal Ishmael (36) in the first quarter of their game against the Cleveland Browns at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The big story heading into Sunday’s matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons was the return of Browns WR Josh Gordon, who was suspended for the first 10 games. He was targeted several times and ended up with eight receptions for 120 yards. Browns QB Brian Hoyer, who had been relatively accurate with the ball so far this season and only had thrown five interceptions going into the game was picked off three times. Late in the game, the Falcons drove down the field for Matt Bryant’s 53-yard field goal with 44 seconds left on the clock to keep the lead. Fortunatley for the Browns, however, the Falcons had the opportunity to take much more time off of the clock when Falcons head coach Mike Smith inexplicably called a timeout before the field goal attempt rather than let more time come off of the clock and limit any possibility for a Browns comeback. Instead the exact opposite happened. The Falcons connected on their field goal, but then allowed the Browns to march down the field with 40+ seconds and all of their timeouts to get into field goal range for the game-winning 37-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff as time expired. Well done, Falcons, that takes a lot of effort to give a game away so ridiculously like that.