![]() ![]() “Ain’t no way we’re not going to Atlanta,” one female officer said, smiling. The anxiety was palpable inside the Bunker Club Lounge, where patrons and security guards and public safety officers huddled near TVs in the bowels of the stadium to watch the Saints grind out the ‘W.’ And neither was anyone else at the Superdome. And in their dead-quiet locker room, no one was ready to accept the outcome. The magic finally ran out for the Saints. “We came here to win a game,” added wide receiver Michael Thomas, who was held to only four catches on seven targets for 36 yards and no touchdowns. “You can’t take it back,” Lewis said softly. And the league’s apology did little to assuage its anger. ![]() If last year’s “Minnesota Miracle” was a dagger for New Orleans, Sunday’s officiating debacle was downright infuriating. “I personally have not seen the play.” He said it was not a reviewable play and when asked if the timing in the game had any impact on the no-call, he replied, “Absolutely not.” “It was a judgment call by the covering official,” referee Bill Vinovich said, via a pool report. The officiating crew, however, would not. Payton later credited the Rams for making enough plays to win, “but for a call like that not to be made, man, it’s just hard to swallow.”Įven Robey-Coleman, the perpetrator of the penalty, acknowledged after the game that it was blatant pass interference. “Man, there were a lot opportunities, though, but that call puts us on first-and-10 … it’s a game-changing call,” said Payton, who coincidentally is on the NFL’s competition committee. But while his players sat in stunned silence in their locker room, Payton was at the podium, detailing a miscarriage of justice. ![]() In truth, a game the Saints had dominated for multiple quarters was squandered, not simply because of an official’s miscalculation, but because of their own inability to adjust, to regroup, to call better plays and to seize the moment. Saints refs bluex it update#To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Not only was it interference, it was helmet-to-helmet. said it should not have never been a call. “Just getting off the phone with the league office,” Payton said during his postgame news conference. The Rams tied the game with 15 seconds left in regulation before icing it in overtime, thanks to a 57-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein.Īnd it didn’t take long for Payton to reach out to the NFL. So, instead of the Saints receiving a first down and the chance to run some time off the clock, New Orleans was forced to kick a field goal. The referees failed to throw a flag for blatant pass interference by Nickell Robey-Coleman late in the fourth quarter, even though the Rams cornerback collided helmet-to-helmet with Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis before the ball even got there. “Being that it happened right there, in front of the person who would be the one making that call, and everyone in the stands and everyone watching at home on TV, yeah, that makes it more difficult,” said quarterback Drew Brees, who completed 26 of 40 passes for 249 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. “They blew the call,” the New Orleans Saints head coach said, stating the obvious about the officiating crew in Sunday’s NFC championship game.Ī missed penalty call late in regulation helped set the stage for a dramatic 26-23 overtime win by the Los Angeles Rams, who earned a trip to Super Bowl LIII, where they’ll face the New England Patriots.Īnd it left the Saints stunned beyond belief. ![]()
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