The officiating crew made the most indelible decision in the waning moments of the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints.

By opting against flagging Los Angeles defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman for an obvious pass interference penalty on New Orleans receiver Tommylee Lewis with just under two minutes remaining and the score knotted at 20-20, the officials prevented the Saints from getting another set of downs to not just score, but also run out the clock. Instead, New Orleans was forced to settle for a field goal, leaving Los Angeles with enough time on the clock to put Greg Zuerlein in position for a game-tying kick of his own. The Rams, of course, went on to win in overtime, advancing to their first Super Bowl since 2001.

What that ridiculous gaffe by the officials – since acknowledged by Roger Goodell, by the way – obscured was Payton's decision to go for a touchdown rather than attempting to run down the clock and kick a field goal with less time remaining. One problem: Los Angeles had two timeouts, ensuring Sean McVay's offense would have a chance to return to the field with enough time to score.

There was no easy answer for Payton, basically. In a chat with the media on Wednesday, his first since New Orleans' heartbreaking loss, Payton stuck to his guns, insisting he would make the same choices again despite their end result, and that they were “not debatable.”

“Look, we knew that there were a few options. Three straight runs obviously brings it down to about 58 seconds and we're ahead three,” he said, per ESPN's Mike Triplett. “Obviously time's important, but they had two timeouts at the time.

“Philosophically I didn't feel comfortable with…three straight runs, kick a field goal, they come back and tie. And then [the questions would be], ‘Why didn't you…?”

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JC Latham (Alabama), Chris Braswell (Alabama not Jaguars), Cornelieus Johnson (Michigan) in action behind a New Orleans Saints logo with a 2024 NFL Draft background.

Dylan Bruton ·

Most football fans, thanks in part to the proliferation of analytics, have come to understand the benefits of offenses choosing aggression over playing it safe. It's hard to fault Payton for believing in an offense led by future Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees that also features playmakers like Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas.

Hindsight is 20-20. Would the Saints be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday if they had tried to massage the clock and take three points rather than going for six? Payton will have all offseason to wonder himself.