The Denver Broncos didn't sign Russell Wilson to a $245 million extension in order to take him off the field in a one-point game with under two minutes left. Apparently Nathaniel Hackett didn't get the memo.
Facing a fourth-and-5 at the Seattle 46-yard line with 1:11 left, the Broncos decided to let the clock run down to 20 seconds remaining and called timeout in order to have Brandon McManus attempt a 64-yard field goal for the win. Only two 64-plus yard field goals have been made in NFL history, so the result went as expected.
McManus missed the kick. The Broncos lost to the Seahawks, 17-16, in Wilson's return to Seattle. Taking Wilson off the field for a kicker was an interesting decision, but it was one Wilson supported his head coach for making.
"We got the best field goal kicker maybe in the game,'' Wilson said after the Broncos' loss, via ESPN. "We got there and unfortunately it didn't go in. ... I believe in coach Hackett, I believe in what we're doing, I believe in everything.
"I didn't think it was the wrong decision."
The decision was particularly surprising, given Denver had plenty of time left to move the ball down the field and set up McManus for an easier field goal -- if the Broncos could convert the fourth down play. Wilson converted 10 of 14 on fourth down plays from 4-to-6 yards (71%) since 2017 while McManus is just 1 of 6 on 60-plus yard field goal attempts in his career.
Considering the distance, the probability of McManus making the kick wasn't good. The Broncos had all three timeouts with 1:11 to play too, yet Hackett decided to call a timeout and take Wilson off the field.
"We weren't thinking field goal there," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said after the game. "We were thinking it was fourth down and they were still going. So it gave us a chance to win the game on that play. That was fortunate there. Fortunate they didn't make the kick. He kicked the hell out of the ball."
