New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton wasn't happy after a controversial call cost his team a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
During the second quarter, Cameron Jordan returned a fumble by Jared Goff to the end zone. Instead of referee Walt Anderson letting it play out he ruled it an incomplete pass and blew the play dead. After review, it was determined that it was a fumble, but since Anderson ruled the play dead, the Saints could only take the ball where they recovered it.
Payton clearly wanted to say more after the game but thought about his pocketbook and the fine that would be coming and tried to hold back with the comments, instead of focusing on what the Saints could do better.
“You can’t focus. . .,” Saints coach Sean Payton said via Pro Football Talk. “When we get poor officiating or we get an awful call like that, we can’t control that. Our focus this week is going to be on cleaning up the penalties and making sure we got the right guys on the field, too.”
Alberto Riveron said after the game that the refs are instructed to let the plays run their course before blowing the whistle, but wouldn't admit that Anderson did something wrong.
“We tell our referees when in doubt to let it play out,” Riveron said in the pool report. “If it is an incomplete pass, we can always come back and make it an incomplete pass. In this situation, as it occurs here, the most we can do is give the ball to the defense. But we cannot, by rule, give them the advance. All we can do is give them the ball at the spot of the clear recovery.”
The Saints were the ones who worked to get pass interference reviewable this offseason, maybe next offseason they will lead the charge to have everything reviewable.
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