Oh Nathaniel Hackett, what were you thinking here?
On Monday Night Football with all eyes watching Russell Wilson’s return to Seattle, the Denver Broncos made the most boneheaded sequence of decisions to end a 17-16 loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. With the Broncos down by one and driving down the field thanks to some clutch plays from Wilson, Denver was facing down a fourth and five at midfield with over a minute left to play in the fourth.
Instead of taking a timeout to talk over a crucial play call, Hackett and the Broncos instead wasted over 40 seconds — with all three timeouts in his pocket! — burning down the clock for a chance at a game-winning 64-yard field goal with 20 seconds left.
Spoiler alert: the kick didn’t end well for the Broncos and Brandon McManus.
The Broncos' bizarre clock management leads to a 64-yard field goal try on 4th-and-5, and the kick is no good. The Seahawks are going to win!
(It's also worth wondering why the Broncos didn't just go for it instead of a 64-yard try) #MNF pic.twitter.com/OR4CbX2SOm
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 13, 2022
Peyton was trying his HARDEST to call a TO for the Broncos 😬 pic.twitter.com/eZxNQdWpPH
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 13, 2022
Wow. That has to be one of the worst coaching calls in NFL history. To recap: Hackett took the ball out of Wilson’s hands and burnt over 40 seconds of time off the clock to attempt to win the game on what would have been the NFL’s second-longest field goal in history.
Sure, the Broncos could very well have faltered on a fourth down call and lost anyway, but at least the ball would have been in their best player’s hands. Hands they paid an exorbitant amount of assets for!