NFL Refs Admit They Screwed the Saints Monday Night

Prepare yourselves, Who Dat Nation, because this revelation will make you cringe, even amid the spoils of victory.

Al Riveron, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating, admitted that the Monday Night Football crew made an error near the end of the first half of the New Orleans Saints' 30-28 victory over the Houston Texans.

The issue at hand was a bizarre 10-second runoff that followed a review which determined that Michael Thomas achieved a first down on a 3rd-and-17 with less than a minute to go in the second quarter. Riveron claimed that officials should have started the runoff when the All-Pro wideout was ruled down, and not when the review started.

Because of the gaffe, Drew Brees and Co. were only left with 16 seconds, when they should've had 31 ticks left on the clock. As we know, the Saints didn't have nearly enough time to put up points before the halftime break and found themselves trailing 14-3 at the intermission, booed heavily as they traipsed off the field (and yes, some of those boos were for the stripes).

If the refs had executed the fairly basic settlement, New Orleans could have (and probably would have) kicked a field goal before the half if awarded the appropriate amount to do so. After all, 15 seconds is more than enough time for Brees to pick up 15 yards or so and get Will Lutz into FG range.

If Lutz hadn't put the team on his back with a 58-yard bomb of a field goal in the closing seconds, the refs would've been at fault for yet another Saints loss. It must be football season.