NFL’s Dean Blandino speaks on Saints-Broncos controversial call, team moving on

New Orleans Saints fans will not forget about Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the Denver Broncos anytime soon. Needless to say, it came in very shocking fashion. However, it should have never came down to that, as the Saints offense committed four turnovers - very uncharacteristic behavior for this season.

The Saints overcame and hung in there, getting the best out of Dennis Allen’s defense. If it were any other team, like the Patriots, then the score would have arguably been well out of reach. But it wasn’t, and the Saints did the impossible to seemingly take the lead. It was a false sense of security, as the NFL’s extra point rule that benefitted the Saints in 2015 came back to haunt them.

Disaster struck after Wil Lutz’s extra point attempt would be blocked after a leaping Broncos defender knifed through for the block. Will Parks took the ball and ran all the way down to convert the 2-point attempt. White cleats, white sideline, and the ruling was he never stepped out of bounds. It needed a further look, and it became one of the more controversial calls of 2016. That’s been a common theme with officiating, who almost never seems to get it right and misses the big calls in key points of the game.

Here’s the official word from Dean Blandino, Senior Vice President of Officiating for the NFL. In a nutshell, it wasn’t clear enough.

By now, you’ve probably seen the different photos from the various angles and such, but this video (courtesy of WDSU) provides the best look. You be the judge.

Whether you choose to be mad, upset, or just downright feel you’re in a boycott mode of the NFL right now, the Saints are on to Carolina. All you need to know is what head coach Sean Payton said on Monday afternoon, “It's 12:25 and we are well past yesterday's game and have moved on.”

It stings if you’re a player or fan, and it makes you recall the amount of heartbreaks you’ve had to witness as a Saints fan over the recent decade. I can’t recall a team who’s provided so many emotional swings in just a short few minutes of football life.

What’s most important now is seeing what these Saints do in response, as they must prove they can overcome the adversity and get back into the playoff picture after failing to capture .500 for the fourth time in five years.