Devin Singletary not scoring a TD with 34 seconds left

[RocCityRoller]

It was the right call and play at the right time given the clock, TO remaining etc. The 1st down would have felt better, but a defender could have pushed him into the endzone. I am more a flow of game/momentum/take the points in most situations, but in this case analytics was right IMO.

 

Buffalo has clearly improved in the late game/ time management situation.

 

And the now the Bills are winning a lot of close games, against good teams on the playoff bubble (Jets/ Detroit/ Miami) which should build confidence and situational awareness when Buffalo plays payoff teams in close games.

 

It's cardiac arrest, but the team needed to have success in these types of games.

[Doc]

55 minutes ago, NewEra said:

“Brought him down”??  
 

No-  this is incorrect.  Rewatch it.  Devin dove to the ground,  kohou lowered his shoulder but missed him.  He may have grazed him.  Holland was there, but didn’t touch him.  There’s a chance not one dolphin touched him once he broke the line of scrimmage.  If Kohou did, touch him, he barely touched him

He definitely went down on his own.  Idk if they were trying to let us score though.  Kohou tried to hit him but whiffed becssue devin was taking a dive

OK he did go down on his own but the Dols defenders were converging on him. If they wanted him to score they wouldn’t have bothered. 

[bobobonators]

I thought it was the right play. The point being you run the clock down so there’s no time left for opponent to win the game. You have the last play. You dictate whether you win or not. Period. 

[In Summary]

49 minutes ago, Zag20 said:

Moreover, if you’re confident that Bass can hit the extra point for a 7 point lead, then you’re confident he can hit the super short field goal to end it.

McDermott feeling himself some Bass-O-Matic.

[Coffeesforclosers]

5 hours ago, NUT said:

This is what bothers me. It sounds like Singletary decided to do this himself. Not good.

 

What? Why? Singletary used his judgement, exercised some initiative, and made a smart call. 

[BlazinBill]

This was smart football and I absolutely celebrated instantly and then completely panicked and paced non stop just hoping nothing went wrong 

[NewEra]

10 minutes ago, Doc said:

OK he did go down on his own but the Dols defenders were converging on him. If they wanted him to score they wouldn’t have bothered. 

I agree, unless someone didn’t get the memo.  Kohou was the only one that legitimately attempted to tackle him.  Roberts made a token dive which had no chance. 

 

[RunTheBall]

Do people understand getting the first down meant NOTHING. All that was required was not to score.  It’s pretty revealing that a number of posters have a lack of understanding of situational football.

 

Personally, I wouldn’t have even run Motor. I would have kneeled twice to make them spend a TO and run the clock down. The conditions weren’t bad for kicking a chip shot.

 

Why would you ever leave 35 seconds with a timeout for Miami and risk Waddle/Hill/or a BS pass interference when you have Bass-O-Matic from chip shot range?

 

This is a non issue. They did the right thing and it worked. 13 pages for this? Wow.

 

[gtw3]

7 hours ago, pennstate10 said:

Let’s put it this way. 

 

If bills coaching staff didn’t give singeltary explicit instructions to score or not score, they’re idiots.  
 

That’s like giving your punter the option to run or punt when the game is on the line in your own end. 
 

Players shouldn’t be making that decision, coaching staff should. 
 

Speaking about coaches giving directions to players down the stretch in games...  did you see the end of that Patriots Raiders game?   Hahaha

[Ramza86]

Wait...this is really a discussion? 

 

People wanted to give the Dolphins the ball back?

 

Lol

[Simon]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

OK he did go down on his own but the Dols defenders were converging on him. If they wanted him to score they wouldn’t have bothered. 

 

Maybe they wanted to knock him into the endzone?

[Doc]

7 minutes ago, Simon said:

Maybe they wanted to knock him into the endzone?

No, there was no attempt to grab a hold of him and pull him into the end zone.  

[Rochesterfan]

36 minutes ago, Doc said:

No, there was no attempt to grab a hold of him and pull him into the end zone.  

 

Was that because he was trying to go down on his own?

 

It reminded me of the Baltimore game where 9 or 10 of the players were going to try and let him score and one player tried to strip the ball as he was going down.

 

I think if he had stayed up and kept running - they would have assisted him in, but before the could get there - he started down.

 

I don’t know though - Miami is a very poorly coached team and really have gone way down hill on defense and they are not very aware situationally, but they only way to win is if the Bills scored and left them time.

 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Rochesterfan

[EmotionallyUnstable]

I love me some Motor. I will miss him next year when he is with the Giants 

[ArtVandalay]

6 hours ago, Dr. K said:

Wrong. The whole point of running the clock down is to leave the Dolphins with NO TIME on the clock, so you don't have to kick off and risk some miracle play. 

You can still do that lmao.

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Absolutely the right decision.  I did not want to sweat out a minute of Hill and Waddle possibly getting behind our secondary and tying/winning (2 point conversion) the game.  I'll take a chip shop field goal for the win with Bass any day in nearly all weather conditions.

One thing perhaps lost in the dialogue is if Singletary scores, the kick is still necessary one way or the other. Any way you sliced it, Bass is on the field and the result matters. 
 

Assuming the Fins get a TD after Singletary scores, it happens in some rather spectacular fashion. Blown coverage.  Defender falls down.  Gadget play. The Bills are rocked, chaos ensues, and the snow continues to fall and the field is a bit more slippery as the defense lines up for the final play of regulation.  

 

A two point conversion on the road, against a team you’ve moved the ball against, with speed on your offense, under those circumstances makes a ton of sense.  A sucker punch to the nads, as they say, to end the game and go back to South Beach. 
 

It’s amazing the Bills ate up nearly 6 minutes of clock, moved 90+ yards and ended it in spectacular fashion with no time left.  It was a dream drive.  
 

 

 

[zow2]

I'm in the camp of Singletary SHOULD have scored the TD.  My first reaction was shouting to my son that now the Bills have to execute a perfect snap, hold and kick in snowy icy conditions...  But thankfully they did so all good..   But i didn't like it, not in those weather conditions.

[Orlando Tim]

Reading this thread is hilarious for anyone not seeing it was the right play. The first down did not matter at all, the kick was a 99% play and when the other team has Waddle and Hill you don't give them the ball back if you can help it, especially when the footing is slick and straight line speed can be deadly. 

[Neo]

Full disclosure.   I’ve not coached an NFL team and I’ve not run the numbers, but:

 

Seems to me odds of taking the TD and allowing 34 seconds and winning are greater than running out the clock and kicking the FG.  Assumption:  No team misses an xtra point if they get a TD.  Situation becomes Bills up by seven.

 

Miami has to score a TD in 34 seconds and then beat us in OT.  I think this is less likely than a FG on that turf (cleared or not) with that makeshift OL.

 

One poster has Hill living rent free in McDermott’s mind.  There may be something to this.

[TBBills Fan]

10 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Sanchez is stupid. He has no business calling games. 

Agree.  I can't believe he made it as far as he did, he really doesn't seem to understand the game. 

 

It was the right call. 

 

I believe it was Maurice Jones drew back in the day that did this as well, upsetting fantasy owners.  

 

Great end of game management from the coaches to the players.  

 

Jacobi Brissett today...the opposite of what Singletary dis

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

11 hours ago, Lieutenant Aldo Raine said:

And if Tua hits a crosser to Tyreek that goes the distance and Tyreek taunts our slow DBs for a TD, everyone would go back to bitching about taking the TD.

 

I guess conversely you could argue, if the FG is blocked or missed, should have scored the TD.  
 

My guess is the FG was probably the highest percentage play to coincide with the game clock.

I feel like their was a much higher percentage of missing the FG than Miami somehow marching down the field and scoring in such a short amount of time. Then again I think McDermott didn’t want another 13 seconds (sorry) on his hands. In hindsight it was the right move. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Must be the Buffalo in me but the conditions weren’t that bad. Some flurries but the wind wasn’t bad. That’s easy money.

[Buffalo03]

12 hours ago, billsbackto81 said:

It worked but I thought it was the wrong play. That decision was all about Tyreek Hill taking up real estate in McD's head. This was not Mahomes in Arrowhead in favorable conditions. It's Tua in Buffalo on snow. If you can't stop that from scoring a TD with less than a minute and no timeouts then we'll you're not a championship team. 

 

Of course it's JMHO, glad it worked out.

What's so wrong about it? You realize it was snowing, right? And if one DB slips and falls Tyreek or Waddel could go the distance, right? Going down by Singletary was the right move. If McDermott instructed him to do it, it was also the right move

[Trock]

After 13 seconds!!! Some of you never learn.  I’m happy our coaches finally saw the light. 

[Wyobills89]

I'm Def in the camp that it was the right decision. Worst case scenario bass misses with no time left and we head to OT. I guess maybe a block or something but I still rather chance the fg, if we had Miller and hyde maybe it's a little different. Give me the chip shot with no time left 99.9% of the time though.

[BringBackFergy]

Maybe y’all should admit it! You had Singletary on your Fantasy team and needed 6 pts. So sorry. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Wrong. Didn't need first down. He ran on 2nd. Josh took a knee on 3rd. There was only two plays left. They were gonna kick with 2 seconds left anyway. No play was coming after that. 

 

Come on people... Trust the Process! 😏 

Edited December 19, 2022 by ExiledInIllinois

[uninja]

This was 100% the right play call to go down, burn the clock and kick a chip shot field goal with a kicker who is practically automatic. You’re not playing the other team you’re playing the clock and playing keep away. A win is a win, doesn’t matter if it’s by 1 or 100. 
 

I’ve watched the ***** Pats do this kind of ***** for decades and just grind out gritty wins and I’m glad we’re doing it as well. No one cares about style points. Just win baby. 

[chongli]

35 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

Agree.  I can't believe he made it as far as he did, he really doesn't seem to understand the game. 

 

It was the right call. 

 

I believe it was Maurice Jones drew back in the day that did this as well, upsetting fantasy owners.  

 

Great end of game management from the coaches to the players.  

 

Jacobi Brissett today...the opposite of what Singletary dis

 

10 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Sanchez is stupid. He has no business calling games. 

 

Another stupid Sanchez gaffe:

 

But some fans disagree:

 

 

 

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

I personally thought it was brilliant of him to go down.  The whole drive was masterfully called and executed.  When we got the ball with just under 6 minutes on the clock, the best possible outcome was to possess 

the ball for the rest of the game and score on the final play and that’s exactly what happened.  It was reminiscent of the Ravens game.  Motor going down made them use their last time out and gave us 1 play to maximize Bass’s comfort with the kick, putting the ball on his preferred hash.

 

And Bass has missed what, one of like his last 120 extra point tries?  
 

it was without question the right thing to do.

[Buffalo716]

1 hour ago, Neo said:

Full disclosure.   I’ve not coached an NFL team and I’ve not run the numbers, but:

 

Seems to me odds of taking the TD and allowing 34 seconds and winning are greater than running out the clock and kicking the FG.  Assumption:  No team misses an xtra point if they get a TD.  Situation becomes Bills up by seven.

 

Miami has to score a TD in 34 seconds and then beat us in OT.  I think this is less likely than a FG on that turf (cleared or not) with that makeshift OL.

 

One poster has Hill living rent free in McDermott’s mind.  There may be something to this.

There me no chance that is better odds than what the bills did

 

the bills executed it perfectly 

[Billsturfwars]

Are people still drunk 24 hours later after the game? 100% correct move, and I applaud Singletary for not going for stats, but being aware of the situation. 99% sure he was told in the huddle "do not score, get closer." literally the next play Allen kneels down further away, to ensure it's centered.

 

A lot of posters seem to misunderstand "Risk", as well as their memory of Down/Time Remaining, and Time outs.

 

The run was on 2nd Down, Time remaining was roughly 37 seconds. Both the Bills and Dolphins had (1) TO Each. First down did not matter due to the time remaining, and timeouts had by the Dolphins.

 

Risk is how many things could go wrong.

 

Bills get the TD

• Bass misses XP (higher risk than the walk off FG attempt with 0:02 on the clock)
  • If he missed, the Bills are up 6
• Miami now has, 1 timeout, ~35 seconds on the clock
• Bills have to kickoff, Risk of return for TD
• Botched kick, Dolphins get ball with great field position
• CB falls, Hill or Waddle run for 75+ Score
• They dink and dunk going out of bounds down the field, and above situation can still occur (they score)
• If Bass missed XP, and Dolphins score + get XP, Bills Lose
• Dolphins score, go for (2), Bills Lose
• Dolphins score, get XP, go to OT

Possible Risk (at minimum 6 things can go wrong)

 

Bills do the Textbook move, and kick the walk off FG

• Bass misses we go to OT

Possible risk (at minimum (1) thing can go wrong)

 

Coach McD and Singletary in a few moment's time, understood the correct move and executed perfectly.

[Rubes]

1 hour ago, Neo said:

Full disclosure.   I’ve not coached an NFL team and I’ve not run the numbers, but:

 

Seems to me odds of taking the TD and allowing 34 seconds and winning are greater than running out the clock and kicking the FG.  Assumption:  No team misses an xtra point if they get a TD.  Situation becomes Bills up by seven.

 

Miami has to score a TD in 34 seconds and then beat us in OT.  I think this is less likely than a FG on that turf (cleared or not) with that makeshift OL.

 

One poster has Hill living rent free in McDermott’s mind.  There may be something to this.

Well, considering it was a 25-yard FG attempt and an extra point is from 33-yards away, sounds to me like you also have to assume the FG attempt would be automatic. Thus, the odds of running out the clock and kicking the FG should be better.

 

 

[boyst]

He is one of the best examples of buy in when it is concerned with the whole "process" mantra. 

 

It will be hard for me to believe there is a process we are fed when Edmunds, Singleterry, and Poyer don't return. Morse is also a concern.

[John from Riverside]

I think the bills just wanted to control their own destiny in that situation. If you score, you’re giving the opposing team the opportunity to go down and score a touchdown and a two point conversion

 

in my opinion, it was the right call

[Norcalbillsfan]

14 hours ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

I was yelling "go down". Did not want to give dolphins a chance to throw deep which they've been very successful with. 

Exactly, the dolphins have maybe the most dangerous WR duo in the NFL and Tua has been great with his hail Mary type throws this year. It was icy but not windy, trusting bass was the right choice. Of course Singletary getting the first would have been the ideal situation, it was still a smart move by Singletary.

[ExiledInIllinois]

You know why it was the right thing to do?  Because Miami was conceding the TD.

 

Never give your opponent what they want... You'll play into their hands

 

/EndOfDiscussion

 

"McDermott said it was smart of Singletary to recognize that if he didn’t score a touchdown, the Dolphins would have to use their final timeout..."

Edited December 19, 2022 by ExiledInIllinois

[Neo]

1 hour ago, Rubes said:

Well, considering it was a 25-yard FG attempt and an extra point is from 33-yards away, sounds to me like you also have to assume the FG attempt would be automatic. Thus, the odds of running out the clock and kicking the FG should be better.

 

 

Well, no.   The risk of xp miss assumption, more eloquently said by me, would be the same for the Bills or Dolphins.   The Bills would have six or seven on the board, and the Dolphins would respond with six or seven.   My assumption is that the xp result is the same for both teams.  I wrote “assumed both make.”   Thirty four seconds to match a TD, same xp result, and then OT.

[Don Otreply]

2 hours ago, Buffalo03 said:

What's so wrong about it? You realize it was snowing, right? And if one DB slips and falls Tyreek or Waddel could go the distance, right? Going down by Singletary was the right move. If McDermott instructed him to do it, it was also the right move

This right here ^^*
McDermott canceled Hill/waddles abilities by taking them both out of the equation, and won the game by doing so. What’s not to like??

[HappyDays]

I'm surprised how much discussion this play has warranted. I can lay out exactly what happens if Singletary runs into the endzone there. The Dolphins get the ball back with 34 seconds left and 1 timeout. On 1st down we drop everyone way back into soft coverage and Tua delivers the ball to one of his speedy weapons who is tackled close to the 50. Dolphins take their last timeout with maybe 27 seconds remaining. They now have a few chances to let Waddle or Hill get past the secondary or take a quick slant to the house. Damar Hamlin is standing deep in the secondary itching to take the worst angle you've ever seen in a football game. I would not be comfortable AT ALL in that scenario.

 

It's that or trust your reliable FG team to kick one that's even closer than an XP as time expires.

 

No brainer decision against this Dolphins team.

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by HappyDays