It was a rough day for the officiating out in San Francisco, with a lot of questionable calls and yellow laundry raining down in pivotal moments. But the most dubious moment had nothing to do with a penalty.
That came early in the second quarter with the Saints beginning a drive in 49ers territory. Taysom Hill took the snap at QB and fired it downfield to Chris Olave. It was called a catch and set up the Saints in the red zone for the first time in the game, trailing 3-0.
Kyle Shanahan threw the challenge flag and the refs took another look. Olave dropped the ball as he went to the ground. No catch. But, really? Have a look for yourself.
That's a tough one to swallow, though Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino did agree with the decision, arguing that he didn't perform an "act common to the game" before going down, which apparently two steps are not.
Regardless, it was far from the only reason the Saints were struggling out in San Francisco. It was just a twist of the knife.