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Conflicting Takes Loom on Final Vikings-Saints Play

Whether you believe it to be pass interference or not, the NFL gets another bad look.
John Hendrix|
Conflicting Takes Loom on Final Vikings-Saints Play
Conflicting Takes Loom on Final Vikings-Saints Play

NEW ORLEANS - Oh no, not again.

For the third year in a row, the Saints were eliminated in the playoffs on the final play of the game. For the second year in a row, the outcome was decided on a controversial non-call of pass interference.

The Saints never got a chance in overtime Sunday in their 26-20 wild card loss to the Vikings, as it took Minnesota Vikings just one possession to get the game-winning score from a Kirk Cousins to Kyle Rudolph when Rudolph appeared to gain separation against PJ Williams by using his hands.

The Vikings advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs to take on the San Francisco 49ers, while New Orleans has to move on again after another crazy playoff exit.

The finish came with plenty of controversy, but according to Al Riveron, Senior Vice President of Officiating, the no-call of pass interference seemed all but too easy.

"We looked at all of the angles that FOX afforded us, and FOX gave us some great views. There is contact by both players, but none of that contact rises to the level of a foul. This is consistent with what we've done all year long, we left the ruling on the field. We let it stand," he said.

Riveron was interviewed by The Athletic's Larry Holder following the game. He was asked a follow-up question about how quickly the process went, to which he responded, "Yes, FOX was great. They gave us every angle that they had pertaining to the play. So, we're very comfortable with what we saw. Nothing came through afterward that we had not seen prior to making the ruling."

Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer was asked whether or not he thought the play would come under further review and the momentary confusion on the field after it happened.

"I looked up there and saw both feet in, third foot down and ball in his hands, so I was gone. I saw the referees leaving; I'm leaving," Zimmer said.

As far as the Saints are concerned, Sean Payton didn't seem to have any direct problem with the call, giving the Vikings credit for playing a hard-fought game.

“Tip your hats to Minnesota. They deserved to win. They made more plays than we did,” Payton said in his postgame press conference.

The ability for potential pass interference plays to be subject to instant replay, which was voted on by 31 of 32 NFL owners during the offseason, was put in place to prevent the completely disastrous thing that happened to New Orleans last postseason against the Los Angeles Rams. However, the rule is not clear and obvious to anyone, as several have weighed with their thoughts.

Yes, the Saints offense didn't show up and put up points on the scoreboard like they had over their final stretch of regular season games, losing cornerback Marshon Lattimore on the overtime drive was less than ideal with Cousins immediately targeting Adam Thielen with Patrick Robinson taking his place. Drew Brees threw a really bad interception at the end of the first half, and Wil Lutz uncharacteristically missed a field goal attempt that could have tied things up entering halftime. However you want to slice it up, this is yet another bad defeat for a fan base that has endured so many postseason losses in the most dramatic ways.

Perhaps if the officials would have explained the process instead of running off the field, it would have softened the blow. However, it was a call that could have gone either way, but went against the Saints.

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John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net

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