Pete Carroll Couldn't Believe Broncos' Boneheaded Decision At End Of MNF

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Just like everyone else who watched the closing moments of the Denver Broncos-Seattle Seahawks game on Monday night, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll couldn't believe what he was witnessing. He shared his reaction to the closing moments of the game shortly after his team earned the victory.

Down 17-16 with the ball in the fourth quarter, Russell Wilson and the Broncos converted a crucial third down advancing to midfield coming out of the two-minute warning.

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Fast forward two plays after losing five yards, Denver faced a 3rd & 14 with 1:11 left on the clock and proceeded to pick up nine yards. This left the team with a manageable 4th & 5 with a minute left.

Instead of allowing Wilson to make a play, who the team paid over $240 million this offseason, Denver ran the clock down and trotted out Brandon McManus to attempt a 64-yard game-winning field goal.

McManus missed the field spoiling Wilson's return to Seattle.

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Carroll, like the rest of us, was expecting to see the Broncos go for it on fourth down.

“I was surprised they took Russ out at the end,” Carroll said shortly after the game. “We weren’t thinking field goal there. We were thinking they were going. It gave us a chance to win the game on that play. Very fortunate there.”

It was a completely boneheaded move from Denver head coach Nathaniel Hackett. You can blame it on him being a first-year head coach and simply making a mistake in his first game at the helm, but mistakes like that typically result in the loss of a job in the National Football League.

It's safe to say Hackett won't be taking the ball out of Wilson's hands the next time a situation like that arises later this season.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.