Some New Orleans fans may have been wondering why head coach Sean Payton made not one but two questionable challenges during the fourth quarter of their NFC Divisional Round loss to the Minnesota Vikings, both of which they lost.
According to Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune, Sean Payton was essentially working blind and making those challenges with just his gut as the Saints’ replay monitor in their booth was down.
Article Continues Below“Our monitor was down,” Payton said after the game. “Our booth was the only booth that didn't have a feed to it. So, you just got to go with your gut, and fortunately, it wasn't an issue with the timeouts.”
According to a source Katzenstein talked to, both teams, as well as the referees’ instant replay booth, had the same issues with a loss of replay video during the second half. The issue was eventually resolved for the replay booth, but apparently not the Saints’ booth.
Payton and the Saints lost both challenges, which cost them two timeouts. Luckily for them, they didn’t end up needing those timeouts nor did they need to challenge a play later in the game. But unfortunately, their luck eventually ran out in the final play of the game with Stefon Diggs’ dramatic walk-off touchdown.
Still, it was better for them and the league that a big playoff game – especially one that had one of the greatest endings in playoff history – didn’t end up being drastically altered or marred by the controversy of a technical issue.