Officials, ‘mistakenly’ stopped clock upset Commanders, Saints

NEW ORLEANS — Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn said he wanted to take the high road when discussing an officiating error that could have cost his team the game on Sunday. New Orleans Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi, meanwhile, traveled a different road when discussing multiple officiating calls.

Washington beat New Orleans 20-19 by stopping a 2-point conversion attempt after time had expired. The Commanders (9-5) remain in the seventh and final playoff spot with three games remaining.

Both teams ended with gripes about the officiating, though Washington’s frustration was subdued because of the win.

With no timeouts left, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler connected with tight end Foster Moreau, who was tackled at Washington’s 1-yard line with nine seconds remaining. Side judge Jim Quirk ran to the ball and signaled for a clock stoppage, and the clock was stopped for at least four seconds and possibly five.

That enabled the Saints to run to the line and spike the ball with three seconds left. They scored on the next play.

Referee Shawn Hochuli told a pool reporter afterward that “the covering official mistakenly stopped the clock in that situation. The clock should not have stopped.” Hochuli said it was not reviewable.

“I am absolutely taking the high road,” Quinn said. “Those three seconds are critical, let’s just say that. We’re on to [next opponent] Philadelphia. … In the game, I was frustrated why [the clock had stopped], but in the moment, I don’t get to ask and you don’t get the feedback when it’s that type of intensity.”

A number of Commanders coaches on the sideline knew the clock had stopped, but the players on the field did not.

“I didn’t hear any whistle blow,” Washington cornerback Noah Igbinoghene said. “If the clock stopped, I have no idea why. I looked up and there were nine seconds left. I didn’t look anymore; I just ran to the huddle.”

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels said he was more bothered by finishing the previous series without any points. He and wide receiver Terry McLaurin couldn’t connect on multiple deep passes, and kicker Greg Joseph missed a 54-yard field goal attempt.

“If we go down and score, we’re not in that situation [at the end],” Daniels said.

Meanwhile, Rizzi was upset that officials did not stop a field goal attempt when the third quarter ended and about another call that extended a Washington drive, resulting in a touchdown.

Regarding the first reference, with time having expired at the end of the third quarter, Joseph went through with the kick and missed from 41 yards. Given another opportunity, he made the 41-yarder on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 20-10 lead.

“The play should not have been allowed to go on,” Rizzi said. “They gave the field goal kicker basically a freebie. … I’ve been coaching kickers for 30 years. You give a guy a warmup shot, he’s got a pretty good shot at making the second one. The success rate goes through the roof when the guy gets a second chance.

“It was a game management from the officials’ operations. I’ll let the league handle it, but I hope that everybody else gets held accountable in this league. I hope that the people that mismanaged that get held accountable too, because it was completely mishandled.”

On Washington’s first series, Joseph made a 45-yard field goal, but New Orleans defensive lineman Payton Turner was flagged for unnecessary roughness after officials said he made contact with long-snapper Tyler Ott.

That too upset Rizzi. It was made worse when Daniels finished that drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin for a 7-0 lead.

“Yeah, I disagreed. You guys saw the play,” Rizzi said. “I’m skating on thin ice as it is, so I’m going to bite my tongue, but I disagreed with the call. So, it’s a shame that seven points in the game come down to a penalty on a field goal block and a quarter that was over and they let the play go. That’s just a shame. So, that’s not a criticism; it’s a shame.”