NFL officials took heat on Sunday for an unwarranted clock stoppage during a game between the Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints.
On 4th-and-3 with 17 seconds left, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler threw a pass to Foster Moreau for the conversion. The pass got New Orleans to Washington’s 1-yard line. As Rattler and the team rushed to the line of scrimmage, a sideline judge inexplicably called for the clock to be stopped.
The clock stopped for at least three seconds as the Saints got to the line. Rattler spiked the ball to officially stop the clock. There were three seconds left on the clock after Rattler spiked the ball.
On the next play, Rattler threw a touchdown pass to Moreau. The Saints attempted a 2-point conversion to try to win the game but failed. Washington won the game, 20-19.
NFL fans noticed the clock fumble. Washington (-8) was considered the favorite going in, according to FOX Sports.
"You never want to let a coach go midseason, but at the end of the day, the business is about winning. And if you’re not winning, there’s disappointment and changes made," Brees told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
However, Brees has confidence in the veteran leadership on both sides of the ball, saying the franchise is still a "very functional organization."
"An organization that knows what it means to put the best product on the field, have a great culture, be able to overcome adversity. Unfortunately, they were on a trend where they had a lot of losses in a row, it wasn’t working, a change needed to be made. Those things happen, but if you ask the leadership on the team, they’re all trending in the right direction right now if they can stay healthy."
Health has been a huge issue. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed have both been out, and now Derek Carr is slated to miss the rest of the season. As Brees says, "You take the starting two receivers off the team, you’re going to struggle."
And for the Saints, Brees says they are close to getting back to the glory days.
"When you look at the entirety of a season, it’s going to come down to one or two games where you look back on and say, ‘We missed the playoffs because of those two. If we got the job done, we could have potentially made the playoffs and totally changed the complexion of the entire season.’ And within those two games, it’s one play here, one play there," he said.
In retirement, Brees has become an owner, investor and ambassador for Sports Illustrated Tickets, with his goal to make it the best secondary marketplace in the ticketing industry.
Launched in 2021 as the exclusive licensed operator of Sports Illustrated's live events vertical, Sports Illustrated Tickets struck a deal with the New York Red Bulls to have the SI name on its stadium, and Brees, who was on six Sports Illustrated covers, wants to make it easier for fans to get to sporting events by nixing hidden fees.
"It’s one of the most iconic brands in all of sports. I think it’s something that resonates with all of us, especially for my generation and beyond. …" Brees said. "I think what we saw is a great need and opportunity in the ticketing marketplace, both in the primary and secondary ticketing marketplace. … So we felt like there was an opportunity to step in and create a clean and transparent ticketing process that would allow people to see exactly the price they’re going to pay, no hidden fees, never trying to trick anybody. We want to be that ticketing solution across every live sporting event, every live concert at every venue in the country behind an iconic brand like Sports Illustrated."
"I think there’s some incredible nostalgia that comes with the brand," he added. "It stands for credibility and something that people can trust. So, while Sports Illustrated started off as a publication, now there’s a lot of different avenues that it’s going. It’s being licensed to groups that are great operators."
While the Saints have not found success post-Brees, the quarterback's former right-hand man, Sean Payton, has with the Denver Broncos. After winning just eight games with Russell Wilson in 2023 in his return to the sidelines, Payton is now 8-5 with rookie Bo Nix, and Brees loves what he sees.
"It’s been awesome. I know the way Sean Payton wants to build a program. He’s an incredible teacher, and what Sean always does a great job of week to week is just creating the key to victory, the vision to win this game. And each game might be a little different, but he creates that vision and gets everyone to buy in and recognize what it’s going to take and just kind of narrow the focus and block out the noise," Brees said.
"He takes the young quarterback who you’re going to have growing pains with – to watch Bo continue to progress and gain a level of comfort, you see a guy who’s mature beyond his years, very poised, can do everything, great athlete, highly competitive, but make him process the game. Defense has played well, you have playmakers emerge on offense, they’re going to be tough down the stretch."
Brees will be eligible for the Hall of Fame next year, and with his 80,000-plus passing yards and 13 Pro Bowls, he is all but ensured of a bust in Canton.
New Orleans Saints punter Matthew Hayball was on the receiving end of interim head coach Darren Rizzi’s wrath on Sunday during their matchup against the New York Giants.
Hayball punted a ball to returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the second quarter. Smith-Marsette made a move and took the punt all the way back for what the Giants thought was a touchdown, even nearly fumbling the ball on his way to the end zone.
As the Giants celebrated, players started to realize a flag had been thrown on the play. New York was called for holding, wiping Smith-Marsette’s punt-return touchdown off the board.
Rizzi was seen on the sideline tearing into Hayball. Saints running back Alvin Kamara had to get in between his coach and his teammate. It was a 43-yard punt, but it appeared Rizzi was upset with how it was kicked to Smith-Marsette.
The Saints’ special teams clearly holds a special place in Rizzi’s heart. He joined the Saints as their special teams coordinator in 2019 after serving in the same role with the Miami Dolphins. He was promoted to special teams coordinator and associate head coach in 2022.
Rizzi took over as the team’s interim head coach in the middle of this season after New Orleans fired Dennis Allen.
He’s 2-1 as Saints head coach, and the Saints were leading the Giants 7-3 at the time the incident with his punter occurred.
Steve Gleason, a former New Orleans Saints safety who is battling ALS, had an accident while exiting his van, his wife, Michel Varisco Gleason, said in a post on social media.
The 47-year-old was on the road to recovery following the incident.
"Steve had an accident exiting his van yesterday to speak at the Gleason Life Skills Volleyball Clinic," the post on his X account read. "It was traumatic for him and for all of us who witnessed him mangled on the asphalt. Although he is hurt, it could have been much worse.
"Miraculously, he was spared greater injury because he was strapped into his wheelchair and because of the swift action of his care team, a passerby doctor, and family."
His wife joked the former NFL player was gearing up for a fight against Jake Paul.
"He is at home resting and grateful for this crazy wonderful life and the support and love from everyone."
