Bill Belichick discusses Falcons HC after loss to Commanders

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris looks on from the sidelines against the Washington Commanders during the third quarter at Northwest Stadium. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick discusses Falcons HC Raheem Morris' clock management in loss to Commanders

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Dec 30, 2024 4:27 PM ET

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris' questionable clock management against the Washington Commanders baffled North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick.

During Sunday night's 30-24 overtime loss, the Falcons had the ball and two timeouts with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

On a 1st-and-10 at Atlanta's 19-yard line, rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed a 25-yarder to wide receiver Darnell Mooney in bounds. On the next play, Morris let the clock run before Penix fired a pass intended for Mooney with 17 seconds left.

"It's mystifying," Belichick said of the sequence Monday 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."

"It's mystifying what's been going on with some of this clock management" ~ Coach Belichick#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/3o8qp36513
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 30, 2024

Whatever happened, it may have cost the Falcons the game. Atlanta's drive ended with kicker Riley Patterson missing a 56-yard field-goal attempt.

Kick is no good!! We're headed to OT

: #ATLvsWAS on NBC/Peacock
: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/DHKr8Gpg1x
— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024

In his postgame news conference, Morris admitted he should've considered using one of his timeouts.

"In hindsight, it could have been a good decision or a better decision to take that timeout, but I wanted to move up there," Morris said. "You always second-guess those things, you can always second-guess those motives. You can always go back and look at it and see if you can get it snapped a little bit quicker."

The Falcons interviewed Belichick for their head-coaching vacancy this past offseason but hired Morris instead. Perhaps they're having second thoughts.

To win the NFC South and make the playoffs, the Falcons (8-8) must beat the Carolina Panthers (4-12) at home in Week 18. They also need the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) to lose to the New Orleans Saints (5-11) at home.

The Falcons would be in a better position if they didn't have five one-possession losses. Surely, Belichick — who captured six Super Bowls in 24 seasons as New England Patriots HC — could've won some of these close games.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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