The Buffalo Bills had a golden opportunity to put themselves up by a touchdown at the end of the first half Sunday, but the offense botched things badly.
Following a tremendous interception by Matt Milano to set the Bills up in Tampa Bay Buccaneers territory with 22 seconds remaining, the offense had a shot to at least kick a field goal. Up by the score of 10-6, that would have been a very desirable way to end the half.
Unfortunately, that was not possible, as the team’s clock management was a hatchet job.
“With 11 seconds remaining and no timeouts from the Buccaneers’ 18-yard line, Tyrod Taylor threw a 2-yard pass to Jordan Matthews in bounds,” wrote ESPN’s Mike Rodak. “The offense could then not get to the line in time to spike the ball, resulting in no points from Jameis Winston’s interception with 23 seconds remaining in the first half.”
Needless to say, fans at the stadium weren’t the only ones upset by the botched sequence.
https://twitter.com/seant1128/status/922169153624125440
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? #Bills amazingly blow a chance to get points as time expires. Crowd rightfully boos.
— Vic Carucci (@viccarucci) October 22, 2017
Judging by my mentions, McDermott still very much in honeymoon phase with #Bills fans despite his… interesting use of clock this season
— Nicholas Mendola (@NicholasMendola) October 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/kevie1021/status/922168700291244032
#Bills fans upon seeing that completed pass in bounds, looking at the ticking clock, and then realizing they had no timeouts remaining: pic.twitter.com/GjwQMPePlS
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) October 22, 2017
#Bills fans at the end of the first half pic.twitter.com/kgoQOFa1J1
— Ryan Talbot (@RyanTalbotBills) October 22, 2017
Instead of going up 13-6, the Bills took a four-point lead into halftime. In a game that saw the Bucs play very poorly the first 30 minutes, that’s not encouraging.