Clock error cost the Bills 27 seconds at the end of the game

[PromoTheRobot]

If this was Foxboro we'd be howling fix. But the clock continued to run while a Pats player was injured. The refs tried to correct the error but the result was 27 seconds run off. That allowed to eat the clock on the final possession.

[billvernsays]

The clock was a minor issue, bigger issue was that we didn’t get a 1st down. 

[2003Contenders]

Was that on the Pats final possession you are talking about? if so, it was a Bills player (Milano) that was hurt and the Bills were out of timeouts, so by rule there is a clock run off.

[Nextmanup]

Biggest issue was our QB didn't throw the ball to the wide open receiver on multiple plays when we needed it most.

 

 

[Alphadawg7]

3 minutes ago, 2003Contenders said:

Was that on the Pats final possession you are talking about? if so, it was a Bills player (Milano) that was hurt and the Bills were out of timeouts, so by rule there is a clock run off.

 

Yes the OP is wrong

[LeGOATski]

I didn't like it, but I don't think that was an error. It was inside 2 minutes and the Bills had no timeouts right?

 

Also, was Milano even injured? I'm pretty sure he was in on the next play. What even happened?

[BarleyNY]

7 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Biggest issue was our QB didn't throw the ball to the wide open receiver on multiple plays when we needed it most.

 

 

Honestly I thought that under the circumstances Allen played a good game overall - but that last pass was just brutal.

[BringBackFergy]

Pats had TWO players go “lame” in last two minutes. Phillips and the DE. Bellicheat got an extra minute or so to gather the troops. Typical. 

[ColoradoBills]

3 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

I didn't like it, but I don't think that was an error. It was inside 2 minutes and the Bills had no timeouts right?

 

Also, was Milano even injured? I'm pretty sure he was in on the next play. What even happened?

 

I'm not sure but I do wish Milano would of toughed it out and got off the field.  He should know the rule.

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

5 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

I didn't like it, but I don't think that was an error. It was inside 2 minutes and the Bills had no timeouts right?

 

Also, was Milano even injured? I'm pretty sure he was in on the next play. What even happened?

 

The whole sequence in the last 2 minutes was bizarre. ESPN had a lengthy commercial break for the 2 minute warning and when we got back to the game a Patriots player was suddenly "hurt". They cut to commercial again and then we had our 4th down play. 

 

I think OP is complaining about the sequence that I have bolded below:

 

1st & 10 at NE 19

(1:55 - 4th) One-yard difference on change of possession. R.Stevenson right tackle to NE 21 for 2 yards (H.Phillips).

(0:21 - 4th) Timeout #3 by BUF at 01:50.

2nd & 8 at NE 21

(1:50 - 4th) R.Stevenson up the middle to NE 23 for 2 yards (E.Ankou). BUF-T.Dodson was injured during the play.

(1:18 - 4th) Timeout #4 by BUF at 01:23. Extra timeout granted due to injury inside 2:00.

(0:44 - 4th) Timeout #2 by NE at 00:44.

3rd & 6 at NE 23

(0:43 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 19 for -4 yards.

4th & 10 at NE 19

(0:01 - 4th) (Run formation) PENALTY on NE, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at NE 19 - No Play.

4th & 15 at NE 14

(0:00 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 10 for -4 yards.

 

The broadcast never showed a Bills player down with an injury after the 2nd down play. They refs let 30 seconds run off the clock before blowing their whistles, at which point there was a lengthy discussion and they said that play was stopped due to a Bills injury and there would be a 4th TO charged to the Bills. The announcers said that Milano was injured (but again, never showed a replay). Boxscore says that Dodson was injured. 

 

My big question is why did they let 30 seconds run after the 2nd down play before blowing whistles for a (phantom?) injury? 

[Xwnyer]

11 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Pats had TWO players go “lame” in last two minutes. Phillips and the DE. Bellicheat got an extra minute or so to gather the troops. Typical. 

Like SBXXV recall how many injuries their defense had than back on next play 

[Freddie's Dead]

7 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

The whole sequence in the last 2 minutes was bizarre. ESPN had a lengthy commercial break for the 2 minute warning and when we got back to the game a Patriots player was suddenly "hurt". They cut to commercial again and then we had our 4th down play. 

 

I think OP is complaining about the sequence that I have bolded below:

 

1st & 10 at NE 19

(1:55 - 4th) One-yard difference on change of possession. R.Stevenson right tackle to NE 21 for 2 yards (H.Phillips).

(0:21 - 4th) Timeout #3 by BUF at 01:50.

2nd & 8 at NE 21

(1:50 - 4th) R.Stevenson up the middle to NE 23 for 2 yards (E.Ankou). BUF-T.Dodson was injured during the play.

(1:18 - 4th) Timeout #4 by BUF at 01:23. Extra timeout granted due to injury inside 2:00.

(0:44 - 4th) Timeout #2 by NE at 00:44.

3rd & 6 at NE 23

(0:43 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 19 for -4 yards.

4th & 10 at NE 19

(0:01 - 4th) (Run formation) PENALTY on NE, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at NE 19 - No Play.

4th & 15 at NE 14

(0:00 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 10 for -4 yards.

 

The broadcast never showed a Bills player down with an injury after the 2nd down play. They refs let 30 seconds run off the clock before blowing their whistles, at which point there was a lengthy discussion and they said that play was stopped due to a Bills injury and there would be a 4th TO charged to the Bills. The announcers said that Milano was injured (but again, never showed a replay). Boxscore says that Dodson was injured. 

 

My big question is why did they let 30 seconds run after the 2nd down play before blowing whistles for a (phantom?) injury? 

 

Because it ensured that the Bills would not get the ball back at all.  Belicheat got to run 70 seconds off the clock for nothing.  Bills would have gotten the ball back with 20-30 seconds left, but the refs saw to it that we got screwed.

[LeGOATski]

11 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

The whole sequence in the last 2 minutes was bizarre. ESPN had a lengthy commercial break for the 2 minute warning and when we got back to the game a Patriots player was suddenly "hurt". They cut to commercial again and then we had our 4th down play. 

 

I think OP is complaining about the sequence that I have bolded below:

 

1st & 10 at NE 19

(1:55 - 4th) One-yard difference on change of possession. R.Stevenson right tackle to NE 21 for 2 yards (H.Phillips).

(0:21 - 4th) Timeout #3 by BUF at 01:50.

2nd & 8 at NE 21

(1:50 - 4th) R.Stevenson up the middle to NE 23 for 2 yards (E.Ankou). BUF-T.Dodson was injured during the play.

(1:18 - 4th) Timeout #4 by BUF at 01:23. Extra timeout granted due to injury inside 2:00.

(0:44 - 4th) Timeout #2 by NE at 00:44.

3rd & 6 at NE 23

(0:43 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 19 for -4 yards.

4th & 10 at NE 19

(0:01 - 4th) (Run formation) PENALTY on NE, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at NE 19 - No Play.

4th & 15 at NE 14

(0:00 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 10 for -4 yards.

 

The broadcast never showed a Bills player down with an injury after the 2nd down play. They refs let 30 seconds run off the clock before blowing their whistles, at which point there was a lengthy discussion and they said that play was stopped due to a Bills injury and there would be a 4th TO charged to the Bills. The announcers said that Milano was injured (but again, never showed a replay). Boxscore says that Dodson was injured. 

 

My big question is why did they let 30 seconds run after the 2nd down play before blowing whistles for a (phantom?) injury? 

It's not a "phantom" injury if Dodson actually went down. And it depends on when he went down. After he goes down, they have to run down the clock further, according to the rules.

 

So none of this indicates anything fishy occurred. If it was fishy, then we probably would've seen McDermott yelling at the refs again. Instead, we saw him yelling at his own coaches.

[PromoTheRobot]

44 minutes ago, 2003Contenders said:

Was that on the Pats final possession you are talking about? if so, it was a Bills player (Milano) that was hurt and the Bills were out of timeouts, so by rule there is a clock run off.

 

I believe it was a Patriot injury.

[dave mcbride]

3 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I believe it was a Patriot injury.

No, it was definitely a Bills player.

[djp14150]

54 minutes ago, 2003Contenders said:

Was that on the Pats final possession you are talking about? if so, it was a Bills player (Milano) that was hurt and the Bills were out of timeouts, so by rule there is a clock run off.

 

it’s a rules error by the refs.  One of many.

37 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

The whole sequence in the last 2 minutes was bizarre. ESPN had a lengthy commercial break for the 2 minute warning and when we got back to the game a Patriots player was suddenly "hurt". They cut to commercial again and then we had our 4th down play. 

 

I think OP is complaining about the sequence that I have bolded below:

 

1st & 10 at NE 19

(1:55 - 4th) One-yard difference on change of possession. R.Stevenson right tackle to NE 21 for 2 yards (H.Phillips).

(0:21 - 4th) Timeout #3 by BUF at 01:50.

2nd & 8 at NE 21

(1:50 - 4th) R.Stevenson up the middle to NE 23 for 2 yards (E.Ankou). BUF-T.Dodson was injured during the play.

(1:18 - 4th) Timeout #4 by BUF at 01:23. Extra timeout granted due to injury inside 2:00.

(0:44 - 4th) Timeout #2 by NE at 00:44.

3rd & 6 at NE 23

(0:43 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 19 for -4 yards.

4th & 10 at NE 19

(0:01 - 4th) (Run formation) PENALTY on NE, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at NE 19 - No Play.

4th & 15 at NE 14

(0:00 - 4th) M.Jones kneels to NE 10 for -4 yards.

 

The broadcast never showed a Bills player down with an injury after the 2nd down play. They refs let 30 seconds run off the clock before blowing their whistles, at which point there was a lengthy discussion and they said that play was stopped due to a Bills injury and there would be a 4th TO charged to the Bills. The announcers said that Milano was injured (but again, never showed a replay). Boxscore says that Dodson was injured. 

 

My big question is why did they let 30 seconds run after the 2nd down play before blowing whistles for a (phantom?) injury? 

 

tefs sre @#$&ing idiots.  By rule the clock stops Thrn restarts but done from the end of prior play, not resetting a play clock.

[Captain Caveman]

13 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I believe it was a Patriot injury.

From TV they were saying it was a Bills player, we couldn't see anything from the broadcast - is this what you were seeing from in the stadium?

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

44 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

Honestly I thought that under the circumstances Allen played a good game overall - but that last pass was just brutal.

It was also a heckuva play by the Pats DB too though. In hindsight, yes Allen should’ve hit Beasley there.

 

But basically nextmanup suggesting our biggest issue was our quarterback last night is absurd. No it wasn’t our defense not being able to stop their run, our offense not being able to run the ball our receivers dropping two touchdown passes. It was our quarterback. Okey-dokey. Doesn’t Allen know he must make the correct read every single play? What is wrong with him?

[ngbills]

18 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I believe it was a Patriot injury.

Clock would not run. It would be a TO in that case and clock stops with no extra run off 

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

19 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

It's not a "phantom" injury if Dodson actually went down. And it depends on when he went down. After he goes down, they have to run down the clock further, according to the rules.

 

So none of this indicates anything fishy occurred. If it was fishy, then we probably would've seen McDermott yelling at the refs again. Instead, we saw him yelling at his own coaches.

 

That's the whole point though. We don't know when (or even if) Dodson went down. We don't even know if it was Dodson or Milano. 

 

If Dodson went down with an injury around 1:20 then the refs did everything correctly. 

 

I find it potentially fishy for these reasons:

1) Refs blew their whistles for an injury 30 seconds after the  play

2) No replay was ever shown

3) Boxscore says the injury was to Dodson. Announcers said it was Milano

 

As far as McDermott yelling at the refs, I'm not entirely confident he would understand the 4th timeout and time implications in the heat of the moment.

 

Even if something untoward did happen it's probably a moot point. The Bills would've needed to score a TD in the final ~25 seconds going into the wind 

[BarleyNY]

44 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

It was also a heckuva play by the Pats DB too though. In hindsight, yes Allen should’ve hit Beasley there.

 

But basically nextmanup suggesting our biggest issue was our quarterback last night is absurd. No it wasn’t our defense not being able to stop their run, our offense not being able to run the ball our receivers dropping two touchdown passes. It was our quarterback. Okey-dokey. Doesn’t Allen know he must make the correct read every single play? What is wrong with him?

Allen didn’t put the ball close to where it should’ve been on that play.  It’s one play, but it (probably) would’ve won us the game if it had been executed properly.  You’re correct with your point that fans who expect Allen to be perfect are off base.  That’s fair.  But he is being paid to be an elite QB in this league and it’s reasonable to expect a high level of play overall. 

[LeGOATski]

43 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

That's the whole point though. We don't know when (or even if) Dodson went down. We don't even know if it was Dodson or Milano. 

 

If Dodson went down with an injury around 1:20 then the refs did everything correctly. 

 

I find it potentially fishy for these reasons:

1) Refs blew their whistles for an injury 30 seconds after the  play

2) No replay was ever shown

3) Boxscore says the injury was to Dodson. Announcers said it was Milano

 

As far as McDermott yelling at the refs, I'm not entirely confident he would understand the 4th timeout and time implications in the heat of the moment.

 

Even if something untoward did happen it's probably a moot point. The Bills would've needed to score a TD in the final ~25 seconds going into the wind 

What's fishy? Are you implying that the NFL, coaches, and ESPN are all in on the fix? Just because they didn't show it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. At the end of the game I'm pretty sure McD would notice unjustly losing 30+ seconds.

[Nextmanup]

1 minute ago, LeGOATski said:

What's fishy? Are you implying that the NFL, coaches, and ESPN are all in on the fix? Just because they didn't show it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. At the end of the game I'm pretty sure McD would notice unjustly losing 30+ seconds.

This was clearly an elaborate ruse involving multiple parties designed to handicap the Bills specifically.

 

It happens every game one way or another.

 

I'm joking.

 

 

[LeGOATski]

Just now, Nextmanup said:

This was clearly an elaborate ruse involving multiple parties designed to handicap the Bills specifically.

 

It happens every game one way or another.

 

I'm joking.

 

 

Apparently, the Bills coaches are even in on it! 

 

[filthymcnasty08]

Burning 2 timeouts early in the 2nd half, to me, killed any Bills final drive possibilities.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nextmanup]

5 minutes ago, filthymcnasty08 said:

Burning 2 timeouts early in the 2nd half, to me, killed any Bills final drive possibilities.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I said as much at the time in the game-day thread.  It would have been tough to do something with that final possession, but we might have had a crack at it had we not pissed away timeouts like they were meaningless.

 

Throwing TOs away is a McDermott specialty.

 

 

[filthymcnasty08]

2 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

 I said as much at the time in the game-day thread.  It would have been tough to do something with that final possession, but we might have had a crack at it had we not pissed away timeouts like they were meaningless.

 

Throwing TOs away is a McDermott specialty.

 

 

The challenge was inexcusable.  Outside of the side judge (closest to us on TV) marking it short, you couldn't see a thing from the camera angles.  As a NFL HC, you should know that's never going to get a "conclusive" enough look to overturn.  Burn a TO on a low % gamble.  Bad decision McD.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Captain Caveman said:

From TV they were saying it was a Bills player, we couldn't see anything from the broadcast - is this what you were seeing from in the stadium?

I wasn't there. I'm going by what was said on Boston radio today. They thought it was a Pats injury.

[pocoboy]

3 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

 I said as much at the time in the game-day thread.  It would have been tough to do something with that final possession, but we might have had a crack at it had we not pissed away timeouts like they were meaningless.

 

Throwing TOs away is a McDermott specialty.

 

 

 

Another specialty is his seeming fetish for making sure the placekicker feels wanted and needed. Nothing changes about the endgame if you fail a 2pt conversion, but if you make it, Bass could have had a 2nd attempt at a tough FG into the wind at that end to bring it level. But I wondered at the time if we kicked the PAT because he wanted Bass to "get comfortable" or something utterly useless like that.

 

Assuming everything else happens the same...which is sketchy to some regard.

[Jared]

2 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Pats had TWO players go “lame” in last two minutes. Phillips and the DE. Bellicheat got an extra minute or so to gather the troops. Typical. 

 

Phillips specifically was down during the two minute warning.  The clock was already stopped.

[ArdmoreRyno]

That's why we lost. The refs with the clock with 1:30 to go. 

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

5 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

What's fishy? Are you implying that the NFL, coaches, and ESPN are all in on the fix? Just because they didn't show it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. At the end of the game I'm pretty sure McD would notice unjustly losing 30+ seconds.

 

I'm not saying it's some vast conspiracy. Incompetence is normally the answer, and there were definitely mistakes made here. Whether it was Bills coaches, the refs, ESPN, or the Bills players. 

 

• If there was a serious injury the refs should've blown the play dead immediately
• If it was a minor injury the Bills players/coaches should've been smart enough to know the player had to limp off (or carried off by teammates) to avoid  a 4th timeout and subsequent runoff after the play clock reset
• If there was an injury there's a mistake in either the boxscore or by the announcers. Unless both Dodson and Milano were both hurt at the same time

 

[PatsFanNH]

2 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Pats had TWO players go “lame” in last two minutes. Phillips and the DE. Bellicheat got an extra minute or so to gather the troops. Typical. 

Phillips was serious… they actually thought he tore his ACL.. thankfully it seems he escaped a major injury. DE? You talking about Judon? I was scared of losing him he is the best rusher we have one of the best in the NFL. 

[Evian]

2 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Biggest issue was our QB didn't throw the ball to the wide open receiver on multiple plays when we needed it most.

 

 

 

And when he did the receiver/tight end dropped it.

[goldenboy81]

I will say bb did a great job of killing the momentum of that last drive, from the timeout on

[LeGOATski]

28 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

I'm not saying it's some vast conspiracy. Incompetence is normally the answer, and there were definitely mistakes made here. Whether it was Bills coaches, the refs, ESPN, or the Bills players. 

 

• If there was a serious injury the refs should've blown the play dead immediately

- without seeing/knowing what happened, Dodson may have not gone down right after the previous play. We can't assume he was down with injury for 30 secs before the refs stopped the clock. He may have been standing hurt while the the Pats were milking clock before going down.

 

If the refs left 30+ seconds on the clock at the end of the game, it's a safe bet we'd see McDermott in their ear about it. 

 

What we actually saw was McDermott yelling at his coaches, which is more indicative of your next point....

 

• If it was a minor injury the Bills players/coaches should've been smart enough to know the player had to limp off (or carried off by teammates) to avoid  a 4th timeout and subsequent runoff after the play clock reset

- Yes, I agree that's what they should do.

 

• If there was an injury there's a mistake in either the boxscore or by the announcers. Unless both Dodson and Milano were both hurt at the same time

- Yes. I assume the commentators just got the name wrong. They do it all the time.

 

So there's nothing worth pointing to as fishy. 

31 minutes ago, FFadpecr said:

What are you talking about?

 

That last pass was perfect. The defender just made a great play. If the defender stays with Beasley....that's a Gave Davis TD.

I don't think so. The pass was behind Davis and short. 

 

It was hard to tell if it was a miscommunication with Beasley or if he was trying to get it to Davis and the wind killed it.

[SoCal Deek]

You’ve got to be kidding! Who cares?

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

2 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

Because it ensured that the Bills would not get the ball back at all.  Belicheat got to run 70 seconds off the clock for nothing.  Bills would have gotten the ball back with 20-30 seconds left, but the refs saw to it that we got screwed.

True, one more time and they definitely would’ve scored

[Freddie's Dead]

Just now, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

True, one more time and they definitely would’ve scored

 

Maybe, maybe not, but the refs made absolutely sure that we were dead.

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, FFadpecr said:

What are you talking about?

 

That last pass was perfect. The defender just made a great play. If the defender stays with Beasley....that's a Gave Davis TD.

No.  It’s trajectory was well behind Davis’ route.