What’s more fun than having doubts from NFL coaches? Nothing, that’s what. So let’s do it here every week. Today: Whatever that was at the end of Bills-Rams.
The scenario
Late in Sunday’s massive showdown between Buffalo and Los Angeles, the Bills trailed 44-35 but were knocking on the door. Not just knocking, banging. A pass interference penalty gave Buffalo the ball at the Rams’ 1 with 1:06 remaining in the game. Significantly, however, Buffalo still had all three timeouts… meaning a quick touchdown plus a three-and-out would give the Bills the ball enough time to get within field goal range.
What to do?
The case for passing
Quick passes would stop the clock; Bills quarterback Josh Allen was able to fire four in a matter of seconds. That was clearly the thought process of an interested and knowledgeable spectator:
“You’re in a great position,” Fox Sports host Tom Brady said as the Bills prepared for their first appearance from the 1. “They just can’t do anything right now. Worst case, three shots into the end zone. You get a little bit of time off, but nothing comes in where you have to use a timeout.
On the other hand…
The case for running
You know the old rule about passing: three things can happen, and two of them are bad. Since everyone is in a single box eleven meters deep, there isn’t much room to maneuver. So why not take the faster route?
Allen had already run for two touchdowns that afternoon, two 1-yard grinds that left himself at the mercy of his offensive line. So why not put the ball in his hands and see what happens?
The result
Bills head coach Sean McDermott opted for the point … and the Rams piled on Allen at the goal line, forcing Buffalo to use a timeout.
Brady didn’t like the call and said so right away in perhaps the best moment of his young broadcasting career. “It changes the whole complexity of the last 1:02 of the game,” Brady said. “I didn’t like that at all. That could have easily cost them the match.”
The Bills scored on the next play — another Allen rush, as it turned out — but without that extra timeout, they couldn’t stop the clock on third down. This allowed the Rams to turn the clock all the way back to seven seconds remaining before kicking the ball away, and that was that. (The Bills also only had nine men on the field for that kick, but that’s a whole different story.)
Would the game have gone differently if Buffalo had elected to fold? Assuming the Bills managed to score a touchdown or a field goal, they could have used their timeouts and gotten the ball back with about 40 seconds left (if they had forced a three-and-out), more then enough time to cross the field.
Your call. Did Buffalo make the right decision?
