Officials “mistakenly” stopped the clock, angering commanders, the Saints

NEW ORLEANS – Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn said he meant business when discussing a refereeing error that could have cost his team Sunday’s game. New Orleans Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi, meanwhile, took a different tack when discussing several official moves.

Washington defeated New Orleans 20-19 by stopping a two-point conversion as time expired. The Commanders (9-5) remain in the seventh and final playoff spot with three games left.

Both teams had complaints about officiating at the end, although Washington’s frustration was tempered by the win.

With no timeouts left, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler connected with tight end Foster Moreau, who was tackled at the 1-yard line with nine seconds left. Side judge Jim Quirk ran to the ball and signaled to stop the clock. The clock was then stopped for at least four and possibly five seconds.

That allowed the Saints to run to the line and shoot the ball with three seconds left. They scored on the next play.

Referee Shawn Hochuli told a pool reporter that “the referee accidentally stopped the clock in this situation. The clock shouldn’t have stopped.” Hochuli said it couldn’t be verified.

“I’m absolutely going the right way,” Quinn said. “These three seconds are crucial, let’s just say it. We are looking for (next opponent) Philadelphia. … In the game I was frustrated about it (the clock had stopped), but not at the moment. “If you ask, you don’t get any feedback when it comes to that kind of intensity.”

Some Commanders coaches on the sideline knew the clock had stopped, but the players on the field didn’t.

“I didn’t hear a whistle,” cornerback Noah Igbinoghene said. “If the clock stopped, I don’t know why. I looked up and there were nine seconds left.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels said he was more bothered by his inability to finish the previous series with points. He and receiver Terry McLaurin failed to make contact on several deep passes and kicker Greg Joseph missed a 54-yard field goal.

“If we go down and score, we won’t be in that situation (at the end),” Daniels said.

Meanwhile, Rizzi was upset that officials didn’t stop a field goal attempt at the end of the third quarter and another call that extended a Washington drive and resulted in a touchdown.

In the first period, as time expired at the end of the third quarter, Joseph went through with the kick and missed from 41 yards. With new life, he converted the 41-yarder on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 20-10 lead.

“The play shouldn’t have continued,” Rizzi said. “They basically gave the field goal kicker a free gift if the guy gets a second chance.

“It was game management from the officials’ point of view. I’ll leave it to the league, but I hope everyone else in this league is held accountable. I hope that the people who mismanaged this are also held accountable because it was completely mishandled.

On Washington’s first series, Joseph made a 45-yard field goal, but New Orleans defensive lineman Payton Turner was charged with unnecessary roughness after officials said he made contact with long snapper Tyler Ott.

That also angered Rizzi. Things got worse when Daniels capped that drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin for a 7-0 lead.

“Yes, I disagreed. You saw the play,” Rizzi said. “I’m on thin ice anyway so I’ll bite my tongue, but I didn’t agree with the decision. So it’s a shame that seven points in the game came from a penalty due to a field goal block.” One quarter over and they gave up the game. So that’s not a criticism, it’s a shame.