Two things were very clear by the end of the Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Rams game on Sunday: Fox analyst Tom Brady needed a lozenge, and the Bills may have screwed up big time.
Brady didn’t seem to have time to pop in a cough drop to soothe his throat in the closing minutes of the Bills-Rams high-scoring shootout, but he was still on top of his announcing game.
During one pivotal fourth-quarter play, the Bills, who were trailing 44–35, had the ball at the Rams’ 1-yard line with just over a minute left in the game. Josh Allen tried a quarterback sneak which failed, causing Sean McDermott to use one of Buffalo’s three timeouts.
Brady didn’t like that decision at all.
“To me, take three shots throwing it, don't use a timeout," Brady said. “And then you can kick it deep, use your three timeouts and still get the ball with good time… Try the long field goal. That changes the entire complexity of the last 1:02 of the game.”
“I did not like that one bit,” continued Brady. “That could've just cost them the game right there.”
Tom Brady was FED UP with McDermott.
— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) December 9, 2024
“That may have just cost them the game.” 🤣👏 https://t.co/fZhiFA3nBi pic.twitter.com/swug2Lgvno
The Bills ended up scoring on the following play, but they lost one of their very valuable timeouts on defense. Los Angeles would run out the rest of the clock to win, 44–42.
His questionable clock management aside, McDermott also told reporters postgame that his team “didn’t have enough guys on the field” for a punt block or return on the final play of the game, which was a Rams’ high punt. The Bills had nine players on the field at the time of the snap, according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.
Just not a good look for the Bills coach amid a crucial season that might be Buffalo’s best shot at winning a Super Bowl.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tom Brady Called Out Bills, Sean McDermott for Costly Late-Game Move vs. Rams.
