Mooney was tackled in bounds, and the Atlanta offense, which still had two timeouts, began frantically running to the line of scrimmage to get a play off as precious seconds ticked off the clock.
The Atlanta Falcons’ season may come down to one decision — when head coach Raheem Morris foolishly did not call a timeout in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
After driving the length of the field and hitting tight end Kyle Pitts for a game-tying touchdown with under two minutes left in Sunday night’s game against the Commanders, the Falcons’ defense came up with a three-and-out stop on the ensuing possession to give rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. a chance at glory with 40 seconds left to get his team in position to kick a winning field goal.
By the time the next play had been completed — an incomplete pass to Mooney — 23 seconds had passed, leaving Atlanta with 17 seconds remaining.
The Falcons would go on to be able to attempt a 56-yard game-winning field goal, but Riley Patterson’s boot would fall several yards short as Atlanta went into overtime with a timeout burning a hole in their back pocket.
“In hindsight, it could have been a good decision or a better decision to take that timeout, but I wanted to have the opportunity to move up there,” Morris said, according to ESPN.com.
Jayden Daniels made them pay. The Commanders’ stud rookie quarterback led a 70-yard touchdown drive on the first possession of overtime to give Washington a 30-24 win and a spot in the playoffs.
