The New Orleans Saints were held off the scoreboard in the first half of what turned into an overtime heartbreaker. But should that have been the case?
It wasn’t exactly a repeat of the “no call” from 2018, but the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert was not a fan of the official ruling that overturned what appeared to be a scoop and score touchdown by Jonas Sanker into an incomplete pass, despite the ball being thrown backward.
“I don’t know, I think we won — we had 37 points. I don’t know, it’s highway robbery. When you think about it, it’s freaking ridiculous,” Hebert said in his postgame rant. "The NFL is too hard to not get that right.”
Hear Bobby Hebert's full postgame rant in the player above or the video atop this page.
The play came midway through the second quarter in the first quarter with the Lions leading 7-0. Chase Young won clean around the edge and got to Jared Goff just as he was beginning to throw the ball. The ball was flung backward, with Jonas Sanker recovering and taking it into the end zone. The call on the field was a fumble and a touchdown, but the play was stopped for review and overturned.
"I don’t know how they’re going to justify this,” Hebert continued. "The intent? No, it’s either a backward fumble or a backward pass, and if it’s going backwards you can scoop and score. So that’s just, I mean, I’ll never get over that, for the rest of the season I’ll still be harping on this."
.@MikePereira breaks down why the Saints touchdown was overturned
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Officials ruled that Goff had already started the throwing motion with the intent to throw the ball forward. Since the ball was thrown backward as a result of contact by a defender, it was, by rule, an incomplete pass. The ruling drew a strong negative reaction from onlookers, even as it was explained by rules experts. Young himself said he’d “never seen anything like it."
Instead of a touchdown and a tie game the Lions were forced to punt. The Saints did get a turnover on the Lions next possession when Vernon Broughton took the ball away from Jahmyr Gibbs, but the Saints were held scoreless in the first half. The Lions jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the third quarter after back to back Saints turnovers to begin the third quarter, but a furious rally sent the game to overtime at 24-24. Both teams scored touchdowns in overtime, but the Saints’ attempt at a game-winning 2-point conversion fell incomplete.
It’s impossible to know exactly how much a first-half defensive score could’ve impacted the outcome, but the Saints resilience despite an ugly start should inspire some confidence. Tyler Shough and Chris Olave both bounced back from tough moments in the first half to record career days. Shough threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns (while also logging a pair of interceptions and a fumble), while Olave hauled in 10 of 13 targets for 182 yards. That total was the high water mark for receivers in the NFL this week and marks a third consecutive 100-yard receiving game dating back to last season.
"It’s going to be tough to beat Baltimore on the road, but I like the fight in the team," Hebert continued. "I’d have to agree with coach Kellen Moore about how the team did not give up, but they shouldn’t give up. They’re pros. You’re getting paid a bunch of money and you have to perform for all four quarters. That’s how the NFL is. It’s just a shame we fell short.”
