Belichick: Clock Management vs. Ravens Went ‘Exactly the Way We Thought it Would’

Shortly before the end of the Patriots’ 35-31 win over the Ravens on Saturday, questions arose as to whether Bill Belichick had mismanaged the clock.

By choosing not to try for a game-clinching first down, the Patriots were forced to punt in the final minute and gave Baltimore one try for a last-second Hail Mary.

But, as it turns out, the Patriots head coach knew exactly what he was doing.

“It played out pretty much exactly the way we thought it would,” Belichick said in a conference call on Monday. “We know they had one timeout. We expected to be punting the ball with about 15 seconds [left], which is pretty much what it was. We didn’t want to go through any handoffs or take any chance on any exchanges and the penetration, like the play that happened on the goal line, anything like that.”

After Duron Harmon’s interception in the end zone with 1:39 to play in the game, the Patriots took over at their own 20-yard line. But instead of attempting to make a first down to seal the game, the Patriots elected to kneel on three straight plays. With 14 seconds left and fourth down coming up, the Ravens used their final timeout, forcing the Pats to punt, which would give the Ravens a desperation chance.

“We felt we’d be able to secure the ball, punt it back to them in the neighborhood of 15 seconds,” Belichick said. “That would leave them probably at the most two, possibly one play depending on what happened on the punt, whether the ball was returned or went out of bounds or whatever. We’d have to defend one play.”

Electing not to risk a botched snap or handoff that could have resulted in a disastrous fumble in the Patriots’ red zone, Belichick decided to take the safe route, choosing to give the Ravens one last shot at the end zone, albeit from beyond midfield.

“In the end, we felt like defending the Hail Mary was better than taking any chances at all handing the ball off,” he said. “I’m not sure how much more time that would have run off the clock anyway. Maybe a couple seconds, I don’t know, but getting a first down and throwing the ball and all that wasn’t really part of our thinking at that point in that game.”