Social Media Crushes Falcons' Raheem Morris for Clock Management 'Disaster'

Atlanta Falcons pundits and fans put head coach Raheem Morris on blast for how he managed his timeouts at the end of regulation during Week 17.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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Winning on the road with a rookie quarterback in his second start against another playoff contender was always a tall order. But the Atlanta Falcons arguably didn't lose to the Washington Commanders in Week 17 because of rookie Michael Penix Jr. or their defense.

Falcons pundits and fans on social media is blaming head coach Raheem Morris' clock management.

Penix threw his touchdown pass with 1:19 left in regulation. The extra point then tied the game, guaranteeing the Falcons overtime if their defense held Washington off the scoreboard on the final drive.

The Falcons defense did one better. The unit forced a 3-and-out, giving Penix and the offense one more chance to win in regulation.

Ultimately, that drive ended with a missed 56-yard field goal. But after a 25-yard completion to start the drive, the Falcons wasted 17 seconds before their next snap.

How many plays could they have run with that time if they had used one of their timeouts? How much closer could they have gotten for their field goal attempt?

Those are questions social media users asked after the game.

Kicker RIley Patterson's 56-yard attempt was on line but short. That only added fuel to the fire on social media.

Even former Falcons players were critical of Morris' clock management.

For fans who don't follow the Falcons on a daily basis, Shanks' tweet was making fun of Morris for the lip service he provided to the media about the organization's decision to switch from Kirk Cousins to Michael Penix Jr.

Obviously, the clock management was one of the topics Morris addressed during his postgame press conference. His explanation for why he didn't use a timeout with about 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter only made pundits more mad.

Given that Penix was in his second career start, it's difficult to imagine why Morris believed they could run their next play faster than they did. Even with the inexperienced signal caller, the Falcons moved to the line of scrimmage about as fast as one could expect.

It also wasn't like the Falcons were down to their last timeout in that moment. They had two timeouts available.

The Falcons used one of those timeouts in the final 10 seconds of regulation. Morris took the other one home with him.

The Falcons didn't touch the ball again after Patterson's missed field goal. They lost the coin toss to begin overtime and allowed a Washington touchdown to end the game.

With the loss, the Falcons dropped to 8-8. They now need a win and a Buccaneers loss in Week 18 to make the postseason.


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Dave Holcomb
DAVE HOLCOMB

Dave is a staff writer at Falcon Report. He also writes at Yardbarker, Southern Pigskin, Cox Media, and Rotowire. Follow him on Twitter @dmholcomb.