The Washington Commanders won a thrilling 20-19 game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 15. The Saints were without Derek Carr, but rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler came close to winning the game for his team after he led the offense to score 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Rattler failed to connect with Juwan Johnson on a game-winning two-point attempt, which could have spoiled the Commanders’ season. However, the Saints had an opportunity to win the game only because of a mistake from the game officials — and it created a lot of buzz on social media.
Fans React to Refs’ Blatant Mistake During Saints vs. Commanders
The refs mistakenly stopped the game clock with nine seconds left while the play clock continued to run, allowing the Saints to score a touchdown. Had the refs not stopped the clock, New Orleans might have lost the game by seven points.
The refs’ mistake could have cost the Commanders the game, but fortunately for the NFC East team’s playoff quest, they still came away with a win.
Here’s how the fans reacted to the controversial decision from the officials:
Worst officiated game I ever seen
— Steeski (@spurlgin) December 15, 2024
“This could’ve cost a playoff spot for Washington,” said one fan.
“All Plays Should Be Reviewable,” wrote one fan about the error from refs.
Never seen anything like this in my life smh https://t.co/jh3B94xV5e
— Anthony Hebron (@Ant__World) December 15, 2024
One fan added, “Bunch of terrible calls by refs throughout the game, highly questionable from that ref squad.”
And nothing happened, New York turned a blind eye https://t.co/GKq1L5LiPC
— 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻 (@JAYDENDANlELS) December 15, 2024
This instance during the Commanders vs. Saints game was quite shocking as referee Shawn Hochuli didn’t provide a convincing explanation for why such a mistake happened. He admitted that the clock should not have stopped, but it could not be changed since the decision was not reviewable.
The NFL should look into this situation and make administrative errors reviewable. This was just a regular season, but things like these can also happen in the playoffs and in a Super Bowl, which would not look good for the league.
Close Win Keeps Commanders in Position To Make the Playoffs
With the win against the Saints, the Commanders improved to 9-5 and maintained their position as the last Wild Card spot in the NFC. They are a game ahead of the Los Angeles Rams, and had Washington lost today, things would have looked quite different.
Here are the Commanders’ remaining matchups:
- Week 16: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 17: vs. Atlanta Falcons
- Week 18: at Dallas Cowboys
None of the Commanders’ remaining games are easy, and things are expected to go down to the wire between them and the Rams for the last playoff spot.
