Saints head coach Sean Payton drew some criticism over his actions late in Thursday night’s 20-17 loss to the Falcons.
The play in question happened when Atlanta had the ball and was on the verge of a third-and-six situation with just over one minute remaining in the game. New Orleans was in position to potentially get the ball back, and could have either kicked a game-tying field goal, or even possibly taken the lead with a touchdown. All the team’s defensive unit needed to do was get a stop.
Unfortunately, the Saints defense was never even given the opportunity to do that, because Payton ran onto the field in the direction of an official after the second-down play was over, resulting in him getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Saints head coach was asked about why he did what he did after the game. The explanation he provided reporters involved him being upset about all the penalties called against his team, and a discrepancy between him and an official regarding a timeout he claims to have called.
“I called a time out and then he asked me again and I said ‘I’ve already called the timeout,’” he said, via Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. “Probably said it with a little more oomph or vigor than I was supposed to (but) I had enough. I got to be smarter than that.”
New Orleans was hit with 11 penalties (87 yards) in the game, while Atlanta was called for only four (35 yards), so Payton may have had a point. The Saints head coach continued on with his explanation of what happened during the game, and commented that some of the events that took place were out of the ordinary.
“Just one of those games,” he said. “Listen, I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never been a part of a game like that. Frustrating, but our guys, we’ll bounce back.”
The Saints will have the opportunity to bounce back in Week 16, when they square off against the Falcons on their home turf. Atlanta now trails New Orleans by only one game for the NFC South division lead, so the Saints will need to clean up their play on the field and limit their penalties when the two teams meet again.
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