Falcons coach admits to bad clock management

Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith. (John Bazemore/AP)

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — In a rare admission for a coach, Atlanta’s Mike Smith conceded Monday that he "didn’t do the things that needed to be done to put our guys in the best position to win the game" in a bitter loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Smith faced intense criticism after calling a timeout with 55 seconds left before the Falcons called a low-percentage pass on third-and-2. After the throw was batted down, Matt Bryant kicked a 53-yard field goal that put the Falcons ahead. But Cleveland had all three timeouts and enough time to get in position for Billy Cundiff’s 37-yard field goal on the final play, giving the Browns a 26-24 victory.

Before taking questions at his regular news conference, Smith said he "would have done some things differently."

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