Refs Totally Screwed the Saints Again in Week 1 Because of Course They Did
By Michael Luciano
Who did Sean Payton piss off in the referee's union? The New Orleans Saints once again found themselves on the short end of a questionable call in the SuperDome when they were driving late in the first half against the Houston Texans.
Officials cost the Saints 15 seconds before halftime https://t.co/5bP6eIK8NI
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 10, 2019
After Michael Thomas caught a first down on third and 17, the officials continued to let the clock run down to 26 seconds before taking 10 seconds off.
According to former NFL referees Mike Periera, and Gene Steratore, the refs botched this.
Proper procedure mandates that the clock was stopped at 41 second, which would give the Saints 31 seconds to drive down the field, rather than the 16 they were left with.
At end of half in #HOUvsNO, proper procedure would be to reset the clock to 42 seconds (the time the WR was down by contact) and ask New Orleans if they want to use their last timeout to avoid a 10 second run-off.
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) September 10, 2019
If NO opted to not take the TO, a 10 second run-off would occur. pic.twitter.com/AhKeMEQnv2
In their haste, they could only get close enough to give kicker Wil Lutz a 57-yard field goal attempt, which he promptly missed.
Wil Lutz misses the 56-yard FG. And that officially caps the nothing-going-right first half for the Saints. Down 14-3. At least they get the ball back in the second half.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) September 10, 2019
The Saints might bee the victim of some bad voodoo, because that is now two blown calls in two consecutive games in New Orleans.