Clock gaffe upsets Commanders; Saints mad too

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 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 the 1-yard line with 9 seconds remaining. Side judge Jim Quirk ran to the ball and signaled for a clock stoppage, and the clock was then stopped for at least four seconds and possibly five.

That enabled the Saints to run to the line and spike the ball with 3 seconds remaining. They scored on the next play.

Referee Shawn Hochuli told a pool reporter 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,” corner 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.”

Quarterback Jayden Daniels said he was more bothered by not finishing the previous series with points. He and receiver Terry McLaurin couldn’t connect on multiple deep passes, and kicker Greg Joseph missed a 54-yard field goal.

“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.

On the first, with time having expired at the end of the third quarter, Joseph went through with the kick and missed from 41 yards. Given new life, 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.”