Week 5 included plenty of examples of how not to best manage the clock in late-game situations. Most of the coaches who learned lessons did so the hard way, by losing their games.
Bills coach Joe Brady learned a lesson while still winning.
In a Tuesday session with reporters, Brady expressed regret for attempting the game-winning 45-yard field goal on second down, with two minutes left in overtime.
"I didn't want to run two QB sneaks with the fall process of, again, getting — putting the ball in harm's way, taking some shots on Josh, just to get — we knew we were already in line," Brady said. "So it's like, hey, do I just, hey, center the ball and just take two knees? You know, you go back two yards, but you don't give them, you know, they end up worse if you miss. They get 45 seconds to, you know, to go 20 yards for the field goal. Big difference in two-minute, and, you know, the 45-yard field goal and a 47-yard field goal percentages, you should still be good to go, right?
"And, you know, so if I had that opportunity again — look, I was convicted about it. You know, [Tyler Bass] was good to go. The conversation we had in the huddle and upstairs was like, 'Let's just go win the game right now.' But, you know, to not give them that shot again, if we do miss, the best thing would be is to take two knees and say, 'Hey, the 45 and the 47 is not of big difference.' Be a completely different story if the ball was a little further back. I'd be no indecision on taking knees if we were a little closer. We were just in that. It is a long field goal. We had just missed an extra point, but had the confidence in [Bass], but that's when I do wish I probably took two knees, and then we kicked the game winner. And if anything, they'd have 45 seconds and not two minutes."
Plenty of Bills fans would surely prefer a 45-yard field goal try to a 47-yard field goal attempt. For obvious reasons. Regardless, the thought process is another example of the decisions coaches need to make in real time, with the clock ticking.
If the kick had missed from 47, the Rams would have had less than 40 seconds to gain enough ground to try another potential game-winner. A miss from 45 would have given the Rams triple that amount of time.