Seattle Seahawks

Once again, Reid's clock management costs Chiefs

Published Oct. 12, 2015 1:54 p.m. ET

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Mike Garafolo

If there's been one constant criticism of Andy Reid over his career, it's been his clock-management skills, or lack thereof. On Sunday, Reid opened himself to even more second-guessing in an 18-17 home loss to Chicago.

Trailing 17-12, the Bears were driving against Reid's Kansas City Chiefs and threatening to take the lead with less than a minute left. On a first-and-10, Jay Cutler hit Martellus Bennett for a 6-yard gain to the Chiefs' 7-yard line. The play ended with 52 seconds left and the Chiefs had two timeouts left, though Reid opted not to take one there. With 23 seconds left, Cutler took the next snap and hit Matt Forte for the go-ahead touchdown.

The ensuing kickoff came with 18 seconds remaining, and the Chiefs' desperate attempt at a comeback ended with a 66-yard field-goal attempt from Cairo Santos that wasn't even close.

Had Reid taken a timeout after Bennett's catch, Kansas City would've had 48 seconds to put Santos in better position for his kick. And even worse, Reid still had a timeout left in his pocket at the end of the game.

It's a matter of feel for a coach whether to take a timeout while trying to defend a lead. Nearly all of America was screaming for Bill Belichick to take a timeout in the last Super Bowl, but he sensed some chaos on the Seattle Seahawks' sideline, so he decided to let it play out. There's no telling whether the Seahawks would have changed their minds about throwing the ball instead of handing it to Marshawn Lynch if Belichick had called a timeout.

Belichick looked like a genius; Reid did not.

The Seahawks' gaffe aside, put me down for conserving time in that situation. Clearly, that's what Reid should have done on Sunday.

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