The clock freezes in the crucial final seconds of the Saints-Commanders game

NFL fans have questions after the game clock inexplicably stopped with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter, a mistake that nearly changed the fate of Sunday’s Saints-Commanders game.

Foster Moreau caught a pass from Spencer Rattler on fourth-and-3, after which the Saints tight end backed up and tried to get into the end zone, eventually falling just shy of the goal line with 11 seconds left on a game of 20 :13.

The clock ticked down to nine seconds before pausing for about four seconds as Moreau and the Saints offense stormed back to the offensive line.

This allowed the Saints, who had no more timeouts, to punt the ball with three seconds left before throwing a touchdown pass on the final play of regulation to bring the score to 20-19.

New Orleans then went for two goals and the win, but an incomplete pass to tight end Juwan Johnson ended the game and Washington escaped with a one-point victory.

After the game, pool reporters asked official Shawn Hochuli why the clock had stopped.

“The officer in charge mistakenly stopped the clock in this situation,” Hochuli said. “The clock shouldn’t have stopped.”

When asked if the piece was reviewable, Hochuli added that this was not an option.

“No, it is not a verifiable situation,” Hochuli said.

Hochuli then stopped the questioning.

“That’s all I have for you,” he said.

The spread of the game was -7.5 for Washington. For any conspiracy theorists who believe the situation was anything other than human error, the final play had no bearing on whether the commanders covered the spread.

However, had the Saints converted the two-point conversion, it would have cost the Commanders a game they probably deserved to win.

Washington is 9-5 over Seattle and one game out of the final wild card spot in the NFC.

Had the Commanders lost, they would have fallen to 8-6 and tied with the Seahawks for the final wild-card spot.