Leslie Frazier called timeout to rest Vikings players

As the Washington Redskins were driving down the field against the Minnesota Vikings late in the fourth quarter, down a touchdown, Vikings head coach called Leslie Frazier called two time outs. Most opposing NFL coaches would’ve let the clock run in attempt to force them to make a bad play or run out of time.

So Frazier calling time outs seemed odd. He is defending the decision though, saying he was trying to make sure his defensive guys were rested.

“I wanted to make sure for one, our guys were getting a little fatigued,” Frazier said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But also if they were to get a score, I wanted us to have a chance to go back and respond. I didn’t want then to be able to run the clock out and us not have a chance on offense. Fortunately for us, because our guys were gassed, they got their breath and made some big stops at the end.”

You could suggest it worked. The Redskins got down to the four-yard line but couldn’t score giving the Vikings the win.

“I’ve learned in my short time as head coach that you better do it the way you believe in doing it because you don’t have a chance to do this for very long,” Frazier. “You don’t want to have any regrets. Our players, they’re thinking about what they need to think about. But I need to think about the total picture. So no big deal.”