It’s been an incredibly weird week in the NFL when it comes to clock management, and on Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams came very close to adding to that weirdness.

The Buffalo Bills had scored to take a 34–27 lead with just under two minutes left to play. On the ensuing drive, the Rams absolutely sliced through the Buffalo defense, with Matthew Stafford eventually hitting running back Kyren Williams over the middle to get to the one-yard line. Williams was down with around 25 seconds left on the clock, and while the Rams had a timeout at their disposal, they didn’t use it. Instead they got set for a play and the clock ran… and ran… and ran.

As the clock ticked away, Peyton Manning was absolutely losing his mind over on the ManningCast.

“Run a play! Run a play! Run a play! Run a play! Get a play off! Get a fade off! Get a play off! That’s taking too long! That’s taking too long! That’s taking way too long!”

Stafford finally got the snap with about eight seconds on the clock, handing it off to Williams who battled into the end zone for a game-tying score. While Los Angeles got their desired result, Manning felt no joy, only relief.

“Man! Geez!”

Jim Nantz, who was appearing as a guest on the ManningCast, said what we were all thinking.

“He’s in. This was not the second coming of the Commanders finish guys, if that’s what you were worried about.”

It wasn’t Jim, but it sure felt close!

Peyton Manning: “Run a play! Run a play! Run a play! Run a play! Get a play off! Get a fade off! Get a play off! That’s taking too long! That’s taking too long!… Man! Geez!”

Jim Nantz: “Hey, this was not the second coming of the Commanders’ finish… What a disaster that was.” https://t.co/yKSQkiN1WD

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 13, 2026

After the week we’ve had, which saw the Commanders let the clock run out on them due to a mental error among other rather baffling clock management decisions, Manning was not alone in yelling at the television in that moment, he was simply the only one doing it while also on television.

The Bills don’t need long to score, and limiting the amount of time they’d have on their next possession was undoubtedly the plan for the Rams. They also didn’t want to use their timeout, as it gave them the ability to run the ball at the goal line without worrying about the clock running out on them later, keeping their play-calling options open. But in their desire to manage the clock, they nearly over-managed their way to losing the game.

Had Williams been stuffed on his final run, the Rams would have had to call timeout with roughly five seconds left. In that time, they would be lucky to get two quick passes off before the game ended. Stafford and coach Sean McVay were walking the high wire with this bit of clock management, and while it worked out for them this time, Manning’s reaction is proof that end-of-game clock decisions are very far from a settled science.

While the Rams were able to force overtime, they were unable to complete the comeback, as the Bills eventually won with a walk-off field goal in the extra period.