Falcons' Morris: Calling late timeout could have been 'better decision'

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris acknowledged that calling a timeout on the team's final drive of the fourth quarter could have helped the team in a 30-24 overtime loss Sunday night.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed a 25-yard pass to wide receiver Darnell Mooney on the first play of the Falcons' final drive of the fourth quarter, but Atlanta then attempted to call a play instead of using a timeout. The drive ended with a 56-yard missed field goal by Riley Patterson with two seconds remaining, as the Falcons ran out of time.

"In hindsight, it could have been a good decision or a better decision to take that timeout, but I wanted to have the opportunity to move up there," Morris said, according to ESPN's Marc Raimondi. "You always second-guess those things, you can always second-guess those motives. You can always go back and look at it and see if you can get it snapped a little bit quicker."

Morris added that he thought the team could get to the line of scrimmage and "run our operation a little faster there."

The Falcons never got the ball back, as the Commanders scored a walk-off touchdown on the first drive in overtime.

Atlanta's loss was devastating for its playoff hopes. The Falcons relinquished control of their own fate and now need the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lose their season finale against the New Orleans Saints to have any hope of making the postseason.