During Sunday’s game between the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Commanders, the Saints benefited from a late-game mistake by the referees.
Late in the fourth quarter, referees mistakenly stopped the game clock for four seconds.
The clock should have run out before the Saints had a chance to spike the ball, which ultimately helped set up a late touchdown. However, due to the mistake in stopping the clock, the Saints were able to score just before time ran 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
After the game, referee Shawn Hochuli was asked about the error by pool reporter Luke Johnson.
“At the end of the game, it was the third-to-last play, the Saints completed a pass short of the goal line and the clock kept running and it appeared that the clock stopped at nine seconds. I was wondering if you had an explanation for the stoppage?” the reporter inquired.
Hochuli admitted that one of the officials had erred by stopping the clock.
“The covering official mistakenly stopped the clock in that situation,” Hochuli said. “The clock should not have stopped.”
When asked for more clarification, Hochuli explained that the play was not reviewable.
When the pool reporter inquired about when Hochuli was made aware of the mistake, he declined to comment further.
“That’s all I have for you, Luke. The covering official mistakenly stopped the clock at nine seconds, and it is not reviewable,” Hochuli said.
Needless to say, this whole situation sparked outrage amongst NFL fans.
“NFL officiating is an absolute farce. They seem to get worse year to year,” one person wrote on X.
“Suspend and investigate the official,” someone else suggested.
“Horrendous officiating,” another person wrote.
“There should be consequences for that. It could have had major playoff implications,” someone else said.
“Fire Hochilli just for not answering the last question,” another person said.
“Such a pathetic situation and answer,” someone else added.
Despite this controversial error, the Commanders went on to win the game 20-19 after the Saints failed to convert a potential game-winning two-point conversion.
Still, this mistake from the referees nearly cost the Commanders the game and fans were not happy about the mistake.
