The Washington Commanders defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-19 on Sunday, improving to 9-5 on the season. The win kept Washington in the No. 7 spot in the NFC playoff picture.
However, the game could have ended much differently, thanks to one of the worst officiating errors you’ve seen in years — and that’s saying something.
The game was on the line late in the fourth quarter when New Orleans quarterback Spencer Rattler, with his team trailing 20-13 and the clock ticking, faced a fourth-and-3 from the Washington eight-yard line. Rattler found tight end Foster Moreau for a seven-yard gain before several Commanders brought him down at the one-yard line.
With no timeouts, this is exactly what Washington wanted. Moreau was tackled in the field of play, so the clock should have kept moving, but it didn’t.
Check it out.
Refs stopped the game clock for 4 seconds when it should have been running
freezes at :09 while play clock ticks from :39 to :35
game should have been over
how can they make a mistake like this pic.twitter.com/aWyIGWb9Hy
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 15, 2024
The official stopped the clock, giving the Saints a free four seconds. This allowed Rattler to get to the line of scrimmage, set his teammates up, and spike the ball. Three seconds were remaining, giving New Orleans time for one more play.
Sure enough, Rattler found Moreau for a touchdown on the next play. The Saints went for two and the win, but the pass fell incomplete, allowing the Commanders to escape with the win.
This should never have happened. The “free” four seconds given to New Orleans would never have occurred had the clock continued to roll.
Everyone watching the game witnessed the mistake, which was not addressed. However, after the game, Referee Shawn Hochuli answered questions from a pool reporter and acknowledged that the clock should have never stopped.
“The covering official mistakenly stopped the clock in that situation,” he said. “The clock should not have stopped.”
OK, what would have happened if this cost the Commanders the game? Tough luck.
Hochuli said the situation was not reviewable.
“No, it’s not a situation that is reviewable.”
When asked when the crew noticed the mistake, Hochuli was done answering questions.
Pool report on why the clock froze at :09 at the end of Commanders-Saints: pic.twitter.com/Eb6gsUjQB8
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 15, 2024
Pathetic. And you wonder why the confidence in NFL officiating is at an all-time low? Yet, if a player comes to the podium and slightly criticizes the officials, he is subject to a fine.
This wasn’t the game’s only controversial call. This game was chock full of them. Makes you wonder, eh?
