Devin Singletary not scoring a TD with 34 seconds left

[Buckets]

23 hours ago, Jerome007 said:

I too thought he should have scored, I mean it was a TD and only 34 sec to go. I was also surprised by the following Josh kneeldown instead of another run attempt.

He also backed up to give Bass a better angle. It was a smart move overall.

[WhoTom]

23 hours ago, WhoTom said:

Yeah, I was in the "he should have scored the TD" camp for the reasons you gave. Ideally, you want to leave no time on the clock, but this ain't Mahomes we're dealing with. I doubt Tua could engineer a miraculous TD drive in the snow with 30 seconds and no TOs.

 

Sometimes you form an opinion and then change it in light of alternative viewpoints. Having read much of this thread has changed my mind. Running down the clock and taking the FG was the smart move.

 

 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

For those who would have preferred the TD.  I'm fairly certain they talked to bass at about 2 minutes and he said something along the lines of "left hash, and I'll nail it inside of 40".  They wouldn't set up a kick unless bass said he felt good about it. 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Bleeding Bills Blue

[ArdmoreRyno]

On 12/18/2022 at 9:09 AM, chongli said:

[I am sure this has been mentioned elsewhere (the post game thread is way too long for me to read through), but it might be a topic that deserves its own thread. A lot of people are talking about it, but mods feel free to merge this.]

 

I saw the game but did not listen to the NFL Network call. Apparently, Mark Sanchez was critical of Motor's decision to kneel at the four yard line. I will admit I was miffed when I saw the play. My thinking was it is a tie game in very icy conditions. In such conditions, you take the given TD rather than relying on a last-second FG where anything can go wrong (just look at what happened to Justin Tucker yesterday). Yes, I know that would leave Miami 34 seconds and a time out left for the potential tying (or winning) TD, but it is going to be a very hard thing to do. Yes, the Bills did have KC do it to them twice: 13 seconds and a similar thing against them this season at the end of the first half, and Buffalo did it to Minnesota to end the second half this year too, but I still consider it a fluke thing.

 

Still, I can understand the reasoning the other way. Miami has Tyreek and Jaylen, and a defender could just as well slip against them and give up the tying (or winning) TD. And a close FG, even in these situations, is still a relative gimme.

 

It's a tough call, and I will have to side with McD's judgment. He said in the article he has coached his team for this situation, calling it "no mas". Devin, to this credit, knew what to do!

 

In the comments to the article below, almost all of the people were against Buffalo not coring the TD in a tie game in icy conditions, saying the field goal was not a given (although the comments voting was about even). The twitter comments were a little more positive. They said if you have the lead, then sure, but take the points in a tie game in such conditions. They also said if Bass-o-matic missed the FG and the Dolphins went on to win in OT, people would be angry at Motor for costing us the game and first place in the AFC.

 

 

 

I've played WAY too many Madden's game where I see Hill go for 80 yards on a BS deep pass. Motor made the right call. Bass wasn't missing that FG.

[NoSaint]

2 hours ago, jletha said:

Seriously. In both instances, whether he goes down or not, something flukey has to happen in order to lose. Either Bass misses the chipshot because of the conditions or Miami goes down the field and scores with 30s and a TO. Of those two options which one is more flukey? IMO, I want to be in control of the situation and not give the ball back at all. Miami cant score without the ball, plain and simple. So dont give them the ball and you have to trust your players to make the play. I, and obvi McD, trust Bass to make that kick every time.

hell if we are that scared of bass slipping on a chip shot - who is to say he doesn’t slip trying to boom a kickoff 

[jletha]

4 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

hell if we are that scared of bass slipping on a chip shot - who is to say he doesn’t slip trying to boom a kickoff 

Or the extra point for that matter.

[DonInBuffalo]

pointing out what seems obvious to me, but I haven't seen mentioned in 16 pages -

 

What do the Bills ST do on practice days when it snows?    They practice kicking outside in the snow.

 

The players and coaches all have a VERY good grasp on how much wind, snow in the air, and snow on the ground impact FG attempts, especially in their own stadium.

 

McDermott probably asked the ST coach something like "what are the chances of making a FG here?", and probably got a short answer such as "money".  

[ArdmoreRyno]

12 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

hell if we are that scared of bass slipping on a chip shot - who is to say he doesn’t slip trying to boom a kickoff 

 

And too add... speaking of kickoff. Tyreek Hill, he was at Oklahoma State (I'm an Oklahoma State alum/fan/season ticket holder) and I've seen him return MANY kickoffs and punts for touchdowns. We could have scored the TD only to let the most dynamic player in the NFL return it full speed. No thanks!

[x-BillzeBubba]

if he the decision was made give the Dolls the ball with 30 seconds left, i'd bet there would be the same posters saying that clearly McD doesnt trust Bass enough to let him win the game with his foot

[Greg S]

In normal conditions not scoring and running the clock down is the right move. But with the way the conditions were I thought it was risky to go for the FG. Bass could have easily slipped. In those conditions that kick wasn't an easy one. I realize Bills fans have nightmares about 13 seconds. If the Bills are up by 7 with 30 seconds left they should be able to close out the game. Miami would have to go all the way and score a TD. It doesn't matter as it worked out for the Bills. One more Bills win or Dolphins loss and the AFCE will be ours.

[appoo]

I don't understand how there's even a discussion on this. It was the blatantly correct thing to do, and if Devin HAD scored on this play, then that's a massive mental mistake and bad coaching for not drilling it into his head to NOT score in this situation. 

[Chuck Schick]

4 minutes ago, Greg S said:

In normal conditions not scoring and running the clock down is the right move. But with the way the conditions were I thought it was risky to go for the FG. Bass could have easily slipped. In those conditions that kick wasn't an easy one. I realize Bills fans have nightmares about 13 seconds. If the Bills are up by 7 with 30 seconds left they should be able to close out the game. Miami would have to go all the way and score a TD. It doesn't matter as it worked out for the Bills. One more Bills win or Dolphins loss and the AFCE will be ours.

I just don’t get this line of thinking…have we not seen multiple examples of teams doing exactly this?  Hell, with that amount of time it would be very easy to envision 2 Hail Marys from roughly mid field.  Who the hell wants that, vs a chip shot FG?

[Matt_In_NH]

any time you can have a 99% chance of winning and dont have to give Tyreek Hill the ball, that works for me

[BullBuchanan]

It was the wrong move in that situation. I understand he wanted to avoid giving the Dolphins a chance, but there was a superior option. If Devin goes down after the first down, they're in a position now where they can bleed the rest of the time off and try to score a TD on a handoff with a few seconds on the clock.

A field goal in that situation is extremely risky given the snap, hold and kick in slick conditions. Yes, it worked, but that doesn't mean it was a high probability play and I'd hate to see that become the new standard operating procedure in similar situations when a touchdown is available.

Edited December 19, 2022 by BullBuchanan

[Rochesterfan]

37 minutes ago, Greg S said:

In normal conditions not scoring and running the clock down is the right move. But with the way the conditions were I thought it was risky to go for the FG. Bass could have easily slipped. In those conditions that kick wasn't an easy one. I realize Bills fans have nightmares about 13 seconds. If the Bills are up by 7 with 30 seconds left they should be able to close out the game. Miami would have to go all the way and score a TD. It doesn't matter as it worked out for the Bills. One more Bills win or Dolphins loss and the AFCE will be ours.

 

If Bass was going to slip on a short FG with little torque needed - an XP and a kick-off would both be significantly worse and more likely to slip and cause issues.

 

Imagine scoring and he slips on the kickoff and it goes OOB or as happened earlier in the year - the dolphins recover near midfield with 35 seconds and a timeout.

 

The chances of winning by him going down was higher than the chance of winning if he scored.

 

The chance of losing in regulation also goes up if he scores as Miami has the ball and controls whether to tie or go for the win if they score.

 

Kicking an easy FG in fine conditions was by far the correct choice and allowed the Bills to control the games outcome - exactly as they should want.

 

 

[Rochesterfan]

27 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

It was the wrong move in that situation. I understand he wanted to avoid giving the Dolphins a chance, but there was a superior option. If Devin goes down after the first down, they're in a position now where they can bleed the rest of the time off and try to score a TD on a handoff with a few seconds on the clock.

A field goal in that situation is extremely risky given the snap, hold and kick in slick conditions. Yes, it worked, but that doesn't mean it was a high probability play and I'd hate to see that become the new standard operating procedure in similar situations when a touchdown is available.

 

Absolutely not.

 

Why would you risk any more handoffs or risk getting tackled and not having time for the time out and most importantly- there is almost no chance unless you are a psychopath that the TD would be the last play - meaning in those same slick conditions that you don’t want to attempt a short FG - now they have to kick-off and kick a longer kick as an XP.

 

 

 

The Bills did exactly what should be the standard and made the last play either we win or OT - no credible chance for Miami to control the ball and win.

 

It was the sound decision and the correct decision and not only should be, but is the SOP for end of game calls and it was highlighted by the Jets beating the Browns earlier this year in a similar situation.  Good teams learn and in this case the Bills have executed that exact situation to perfection twice this year.

 

 

[Greg S]

47 minutes ago, Chuck Schick said:

I just don’t get this line of thinking…have we not seen multiple examples of teams doing exactly this?  Hell, with that amount of time it would be very easy to envision 2 Hail Marys from roughly mid field.  Who the hell wants that, vs a chip shot FG?

 

In normal conditions then absolutely. In those conditions that wasn't a chip shot. If Bass slips and misses the kick and they lose, then this board would be going nuclear on McDermott and Singletary. It worked out so who cares now as the Bills won.

[Chuck Schick]

9 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

In normal conditions then absolutely. In those conditions that wasn't a chip shot. If Bass slips and misses the kick and they lose, then this board would be going nuclear on McDermott and Singletary. It worked out so who cares now as the Bills won.

Did anyone noticeably slip at any point during the game?  I think Tua stumbled once, but not really a slip. 

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

1 minute ago, Chuck Schick said:

Did anyone noticeably slip at any point during the game?  I think Tua stumbled once, but not really a slip. 

I slipped, but I was majorly liquored up. I also probably stumbled but that was a long time ago in Beer/Shot Years. 

[Rochesterfan]

58 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

In normal conditions then absolutely. In those conditions that wasn't a chip shot. If Bass slips and misses the kick and they lose, then this board would be going nuclear on McDermott and Singletary. It worked out so who cares now as the Bills won.

 

So you were worried about a slip on a short FG, but would of been ok with the longer XP and a significantly more important kickoff.

 

I just don’t know what to say.