Late-game clock management

[Woodman]

The Bills started the drive by getting the ball on their own 20 with 8:23 to play. They milked 6:23 off the clock. Coming out of the two-minute warning, they faced second and nine from the Kansas City 26. The Chiefs had two timeouts.

The Bills seemed to be intent on keeping the clock moving, forcing the Chiefs to use those timeouts while otherwise watching it tick-tick-tick toward zero. The Bills would either kick a field goal with no time on the clock or they’d score a touchdown with minimal time remaining.

Even with 13 seconds (again), the Chiefs would have needed a touchdown, not a field goal (as it was in 2022), to make a difference.


Chiefs-Bills gave Ravens a valuable lesson in late-game clock management vs. Patrick Mahomes - NBC Sports (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/chiefs-bills-gave-ravens-a-valuable-lesson-in-late-game-clock-management-vs-patrick-mahomes)

[Novacane]

We had exactly what we needed then inexplicably threw two passes that even if completed would have giving Patrick Mahomes 2 minutes to beat us. Why? You can blame Josh but was Shakir the first read on that play because if he was Josh made the right choice. He was open. I blame the play call. Who in their right mind wanted Mahomes to have anytime at the end of that game?

[Novacane]

That 2nd down play is enough for me to not be excited about Brady staying at OC. Know the game situation and call plays accordingly for gawds sake. Why can't we have coaches who have common sense?

[YardRat]

We had exactly what we needed then inexplicably threw two passes that even if completed would have giving Patrick Mahomes 2 minutes to beat us. Why? You can blame Josh but was Shakir the first read on that play because if he was Josh made the right choice. He was open. I blame the play call. Who in their right mind wanted Mahomes to have anytime at the end of that game?

Shakir has to run the deep end zone route to draw coverage away from Diggs' crosser.

Diggs was open, Josh made the wrong throw. The only reason in that situation to even glance at Shakir is to confirm he's taking defenders with him.

[Woodman]

That 2nd down play is enough for me to not be excited about Brady staying at OC. Know the game situation and call plays accordingly for gawds sake. Why can't we have coaches who have common sense?
It was a textbook bleed clock situation and at the end of it we needed a TD and nothing less.

Should have been easy to choose between 2 or 3 favorite plays to accomplish the goal.

Just a terrible job.

[Novacane]

Shakir has to run the deep end zone route to draw coverage away from Diggs' crosser.

Diggs was open, Josh made the wrong throw. The only reason in that situation to even glance at Shakir is to confirm he's taking defenders with him.


He obviously made the wrong throw. If the play was designed to go to Diggs then Josh deserves all the choker talk the national media has been giving him this week.

[Woodman]

That 2nd down play I wouldn't have minded a Josh run.

[Novacane]

Shakir has to run the deep end zone route to draw coverage away from Diggs' crosser

Diggs was open, Josh made the wrong throw. The only reason in that situation to even glance at Shakir is to confirm he's taking defenders with him.


There's a good chance you're right. If that's the case here's my beef with the call. They know JA. They know if he sees an open Shakir he's going to go for it. I'm not looking to excuse him at all. I'm just saying that knowing your QB why even call a play that gives him an EZ option.

[Novacane]

That 2nd down play I wouldn't have minded a Josh run.
Or a dump off to RB that was getting them 5-8 yards every time. It was idiotic. On JA for not taking the easy pass to Diggs and on Brady for calling a play that gave his gambler QB the option to make a throw that would have given the ball to KC with lots of time. The more I think about that play the more frustrating this loss is. It's almost as bad as 13 seconds.

[Woodman]

There's a good chance you're right. If that's the case here's my beef with the call. They know JA. They know if he sees an open Shakir he's going to go for it. I'm not looking to excuse him at all. I'm just saying that knowing your QB why even call a play that gives him an EZ option.

Bingo!!!!!!!

I still like Josh running it down their throats ...... 9 yards or a few less .... now on 3rd down you got em by the balls.

Clock running ..... if Andy uses his timeouts ..... nothing wrong with that.

OC panicked ..... right when calm was needed.

[Woodman]

Or a dump off to RB that was getting them 5-8 yards every time. It was idiotic. On JA for not taking the easy pass to Diggs and on Brady for calling a play that gave his gambler QB the option to make a throw that would have given the ball to KC with lots of time. The more I think about that play the more frustrating this loss is. It's almost as bad as 13 seconds.

Exactly continue to make each play a positive one.

Love the dump off ..... stay in bounds if possible.

We gotta get a TD and we gotta do it slowly.

[YardRat]

There's a good chance you're right. If that's the case here's my beef with the call. They know JA. They know if he sees an open Shakir he's going to go for it. I'm not looking to excuse him at all. I'm just saying that knowing your QB why even call a play that gives him an EZ option.
That's a valid point, but they can't baby him. They have to count on him to make the right read. For all we know that was a one-read play and Allen went rogue with hero-ball, his eyes getting big when he saw Shakir had a step. That's a weakness he has yet to conquer. But he's going to have to if this team is ever going to get farther in the playoffs.

This is the third coordinator in three years, all with the same results. The common denominator is Josh.

[notacon]

Shakir has to run the deep end zone route to draw coverage away from Diggs' crosser.

Diggs was open, Josh made the wrong throw. The only reason in that situation to even glance at Shakir is to confirm he's taking defenders with him.


The smart play, considering the circumstances, is to throw the ball to Diggs. We will never know if it was on Josh or Brady.

I strongly suspect it was on Josh. He just can't help himself.

Make that pass, on 2nd down and 9, it it is likely that Diggs (catches it, first of all) and either gets the first down or extremely close. The clock is running with the Bills at the KC 17 or 18 yard line. KC had two time outs.

Milk the clock, score the winning TD, or at the worst, give Bass a much easier FG try to tie it.

[sahlensguy]

Drive for show, putt for dough.

Classic meltdown when it mattered most. Not a big surprise from these guys, unfortunately.

[Novacane]

The smart play, considering the circumstances, is to throw the ball to Diggs. We will never know if it was on Josh or Brady.

I strongly suspect it was on Josh. He just can't help himself.

Make that pass, on 2nd down and 9, it it is likely that Diggs (catches it, first of all) and either gets the first down or extremely close. The clock is running with the Bills at the KC 17 or 18 yard line. KC had two time outs.

Milk the clock, score the winning TD, or at the worst, give Bass a much easier FG try to tie it.

Diggs was definitely getting the first. The defenders on that side of the field were inside the 10 yard line. I suspect it was on Josh too.

[Novacane]

That's a valid point, but they can't baby him. They have to count on him to make the right read. For all we know that was a one-read play and Allen went rogue with hero-ball, his eyes getting big when he saw Shakir had a step. That's a weakness he has yet to conquer. But he's going to have to if this team is ever going to get farther in the playoffs.

This is the third coordinator in three years, all with the same results. The common denominator is Josh.



He's proven they do have to restrict him (not baby) and can't trust him trust him to make the right read. He is what he is. If I'm calling plays I'm taking that into consideration and not giving him a long option. The play worked great. Shakir drew the coverage away from Diggs and even got open. In a normal circumstance I wouldn't even be mad Josh took the shot. I don't think he's ever going to be a great thinker like Brady or Manning. They have to call plays accordingly.

[Turf]

This is why you bring in an experienced OC. Any OC will look great in the regular season with Josh. It's the championship level they don't have.

[Typ0]

If the problem is Allen going rogue then you tell him to knock it the **** off when you fire the coach or he's just going to get the next coach fired too. The whole scene we have to watch at the end of these games under McDermott is sad.

This first game, the one we should be playing in, is going to be a battle. Thought our guys battled last week and won -- again.