Ed McCaffrey ripped the officiating in the Washington Commanders-New Orleans Saints game for a clock gaffe with nine seconds left to play. The clock stopped and never started back again, allowing the Saints the time to run more plays. The referee admitted the clock never should have stopped, leading to public pushback for the mistake.
Controversial Moment Has Former NFL WR Heated
Former NFL star Ed McCaffrey, father to Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers and Luke McCaffrey of the Commanders, was not happy with how Washington’s game against the Saints ended on Sunday.
On the third to last play of the game, the Saints completed a pass short of the goal line and the clock kept running. Then it appeared as though the clock stopped with nine seconds remaining.
Foster Moreau caught a Spencer Rattler pass on 4th-and-3, with the Saints tight end attempting to get into the end zone. He eventually fell just before the goal line with 11 seconds remaining in a 20-13 game.
The clock ticked down to nine seconds before pausing for approximately four seconds as Moreau and the Saints offense rushed back to the line of scrimmage.
The extra time allowed the Saints, who had no timeouts left at their disposal, to spike the ball with three seconds left before throwing a touchdown pass on the final play of regulation to bring the score to 20-19. The Saints went for the two-point conversion to win the game and failed.
The spread of the game saw Washington enter as 7.5-point favorites. It did not affect the outcome for gamblers, helping avoid a public controversy had the final play impacted whether the Commanders covered the spread.
However, had the Saints converted the two-point conversion it would have cost the Commanders a game they had earned had the officials not made the mistake. The referee said after the game there was nothing that could have been done to reverse the clock stoppage.
A PFWA Pool Reporter interviewed NFL official Shawn Hochuli after the game and wanted to know if there was any explanation for the stoppage of the clock.
“The covering official mistakenly stopped the clock in that situation,” Hochuli said. “The clock should not have stopped.”
Johnson then followed up and asked if there was talk of any review of the stoppage and whether there was anything that could be done in this instance.
“No, it’s not a situation that is reviewable,” Hochuli said. “That’s all I have for you Luke. The covering official mistakenly stopped the clock and it is not reviewable.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn was perplexed, to say the least.
“I am absolutely taking the high road,” Quinn said. “Those three seconds are critical, let’s just say that. We’re on to [next opponent] Philadelphia. … In the game, I was frustrated why [the clock had stopped], but in the moment, I don’t get to ask, and you don’t get the feedback when it’s that type of intensity.”
McCaffrey was not happy with the way the game ended. He thought the clock should have continued to run. He took his appeal to social media.
“Not that it matters now since @Commanders won the game, but, still – Unacceptable! #RaiseHail.”
Not that it matters now since @Commanders won the game but, still – Unacceptable! #RaiseHail https://t.co/iNADYxLpou
— Ed McCaffrey (@87ed) December 15, 2024
McCaffrey wasn’t the only one who went in on the referees after the game. Fans and analysts alike had a lot to say.
“We will start to get ‘Officials’ that aren’t total jokes. Just not this year. The schedule and Officiating crews are remnants of everyone hating Snyder. Just have to plod through.” tweeted one fan.
“There was also an egregious non-call on a clear PI against [Terry McLaurin], on a drive that would have would have meant at least a short field goal. Between that and the clock actually running out, this score could easily have been 23-13, or 26-13. Refs blew this game big time,” argued another.
