Poor Clock Management By Both The Lions and The Bucs

This got little to no discussion in the media but the way that the Lions and the Buccaneers played out the final moments of the game were poor management of the clock by both teams.

The Lions risked losing. The Bucs thwarted any chance of winning.

An article from NBC Sports that appeared on MSN.COM outlined the mistakes made by each team in the waning moments of the game. Excerpts Below:


When the Lions intercepted a pass with 1:33 left in the game, the Buccaneers still had one timeout.

That meant that even if the Lions had used the full 40 seconds between kneel downs, they couldn't have run the clock all the way down — as long as the Bucs used their timeout.

The Lions knelt down anyway and didn't even take the full 40 seconds off the clock between kneel downs. But the Bucs never used their final timeout. When Lions quarterback Jared Goff knelt down for the third and final time, 36 seconds were on the clock and the Bucs still had their timeout. It was fourth down, which meant that if the Bucs had called their timeout, the Lions likely would have attempted a 49-yard field goal.

If that field goal had missed, the Buccaneers would have had the ball at their own 39-yard line with about 30 seconds left, needing to drive 61 yards for a touchdown and then score a two-point conversion to force overtime.


Full Article In Link Below:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nf...n&cvid=affa6dd42f074a15bf59650fca98be03&ei=45