Peyton Manning was all of us.
Manning watched helplessly as the Broncos bizarrely let time tick off the clock in the final minute of their 17-16 loss to the Seahawks on “Monday Night Football.” What Manning did not realize was that Broncos first-year coach, Nathaniel Hackett, was letting time tick off the clock so he could attempt a 64-yard field goal with Brandon McManus, instead of trusting Russell Wilson to convert a fourth-and-5 from the Seattle 47 yard-line.
“You got three timeouts, I might use one right here,” the Hall of Fame quarterback said on the “Manning-cast” on ESPN as the clock went from 53 to 48 seconds. “Just use this one, talk about this one.”
This is when the panic started to set in for Manning, who played the final four seasons of his career in Denver and won a Super Bowl with the franchise. He started trying to call the timeout himself, signaling desperately with his hands as precious seconds drained off the clock.
“They are going to try and draw them offsides,” said Manning, trying to think of any possible reason for what was unfolding in front of him.
“I think we should call at timeout, like now.”
The Broncos did eventually call a timeout — they had all three of them at their disposal — with one second left on the play clock and 20 seconds left in the game. McManus missed the field goal, which would have tied for the second-longest in NFL history, wide to the left to seal the one-point Seahawks victory.
The question that everyone was wondering, was why Hackett wouldn’t trust Wilson to convert the fourth down given his abilities, and how much Denver invested him in this offseason.
“I was happy he got that one [kick that didn’t count] out of the way,” said Hackett, referencing McManus’ attempt that didn’t count because the Seahawks called a timeout.
“I thought he had plenty of distance on that one, I just thought we were gonna be able to make that. I have confidence in him, and if we have to put him in that situation again, I think he’ll be able to make it.”
It’s safe to say Manning disagrees.
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