Falcons' Raheem Morris Will Look at Clock Management Improvements

Raheem Morris endured an up-and-down 2024 season, his first back on the sidelines as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach -- and, like his organization, is eyeing a step forward in 2025.

One specific area Morris wants to improve next season is clock management, something he drew criticism for down the stretch as the Falcons lost overtime games against the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers in the final two weeks of the season.

"You review those things from a year-basis every single year of football," Morris said Jan. 6. "That's how you learn. That's how you grow. That's how you make decisions. That's how you go about your business. When you do that, that's going to be a week to week. That's going to be a yearly thing.

"That's going to be done from a history thing of situational football and how you get that better and what's the best ways moving forward. So, yes, you always look at those things."

Morris's clock management and timeout usage became national talking points after Atlanta's season-defining loss to Washington on Sunday Night Football.

With 46 seconds remaining in the first half, Falcons receiver Darnell Mooney gained 12 yards on a pass from rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr., pushing Atlanta to Washington's 24-yard line. Mooney was tackled in bounds. The Falcons had three timeouts. They didn't use one.

Atlanta's next snap came at the 20 second mark. It gained three yards on a pass to tight end Kyle Pitts, who went out of bounds, and Penix's next two attempts fell incomplete -- one nearly intercepted and the other overthrown to receiver Drake London.

The Falcons settled for a 39-yard field goal from kicker Riley Patterson and carried a 17-7 lead into the halftime locker room. But with roughly 40 seconds and three timeouts at their disposal, it's fair to wonder whether the Falcons could've picked up 24 yards and scored an end-of-half touchdown.

That was one incident. The next happened at the end of regulation -- and perhaps cost Atlanta a more legitimate chance at walking out of Landover, Md., with a win.

The Falcons, who trailed 24-17 with 100 seconds remaining but tied it after a touchdown pass from Penix to Pitts on fourth-and-13, suddenly had the ball back in their possession with 40 seconds remaining and a chance to go win.

Atlanta, which had two timeouts, started the drive on its own 19-yard line. Penix hit Mooney for 25 yards down the right sideline, and Mooney was tackled in bounds with 34 seconds remaining.

Morris didn't call a timeout. The Falcons lost 17 seconds running to the line. Atlanta ultimately tried a 56-yard field goal with Patterson, whose career long entering the day was 53 yards.

Patterson's kick fell short. The Falcons didn't touch the ball in overtime and returned to Atlanta with a crushing 30-24 defeat.

[RELATED: Inside Falcons Coach Raheem Morris's Mind During Questionable Clock Management]

Morris faced questions about his decision throughout the week. He showed the week after he learned from it.

At the end of the first half against Carolina in Week 18, a similar situation to the week before arose. Morris differed from his approach in Washington and called a timeout after a lengthy pass play. Fans sarcastically cheered for several seconds, some even standing and clapping.

The Falcons scored a touchdown with three seconds remaining to take a 24-17 lead at halftime.

But Morris's day wasn't without crowd criticism. At the end of regulation and the game tied at 38, Morris chose not to take one of his two timeouts after running back Bijan Robinson scampered to the 38-yard line.

Atlanta would have had one timeout and around eight or nine seconds to try to get into field goal range if Morris called the timeout.

Upon realizing Morris wasn't going to call his timeout, fans booed as the final seconds of the fourth quarter ticked down. The Falcons' offense didn't touch the ball again, as Carolina scored a walk-off touchdown in overtime to send Atlanta into the offseason with a disheartening defeat.

Morris, reflecting after the season, acknowledged the Commanders' situation was a "snafu," but it's the decision he and his staff made.

"That's a part of making decisive decisions and really doing it at the time," Morris said. "But, you know, when you really go back and look at it, it's been one of the top notches in the National Football League and that's always something you want to go review."

Timeouts aside, Morris believes his first season included quality judgement in terms of fourth down decisions. The Falcons converted 21 of 31 tries on fourth down, including 10 of 10 on fourth-and-2 or shorter after a Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that ended with a failed fourth-and-1.

"We've had, like, probably one of the better years when it comes to going for it on fourth down," Morris said.

Morris and the Falcons are hoping he'll be able to say the same after next year.