NFL Explains Controversial Call That Wiped Out Saints Touchdown

The NFL has offered an explanation for one of the most controversial plays from the New Orleans Saints' season-opening overtime loss to the Detroit Lions, but that explanation may not make Who Dat Nation feel any better.

In the second quarter Sunday, Saints defensive end Chase Young hit Lions quarterback Jared Goff from behind as Goff was preparing to throw. The football shot backward, New Orleans defensive back Jonas Sanker recovered it and ran it into the end zone for what appeared to be a game-tying defensive touchdown.

Instead, replay officials ruled the play an incomplete forward pass.

The touchdown disappeared, and in a game Detroit eventually won 31-30 in overtime, those seven points became an even bigger talking point.

Why The NFL Says It Was An Incomplete Pass

After the game, NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth explained the decision in a pool report with PFWA reporter Ben Raven.

The key, according to Butterworth, was not the direction the football traveled. It was when Goff began his throwing motion compared to when Young made contact.

"If the defender contacts the passer prior to the passer starting his throwing motion, then it can be ruled as a backward pass," Butterworth said. Because officials determined Goff had already started his throwing motion before Young made contact, the play was considered a forward pass.

Butterworth added that officials determined Young's contact was what caused the football to travel backward.

That interpretation is supported by the NFL rulebook. Rule 8 states that once a passer intentionally begins the forward movement of his hand while attempting a forward pass, contact by a defender can materially alter the throw without changing it into a backward pass. In that situation, the play remains a forward pass regardless of where the football ultimately travels.

Read the NFL's official pool report explanation

Chase Young: 'I've Never Seen Anything Like It'

Young didn't have much to say about the reversal after the game, but what he did say summed up the confusion surrounding the play.

"I've never seen anything like it," Young said. "That's all I'll tell you."

Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss was similarly skeptical, saying that while he understood officials had a rule to follow, the play looked "a whole lot like a sack fumble." Head coach Kellen Moore was less critical and said the rule had been explained to him on the field.

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Saints Fans Weren't The Only Ones Questioning The Call

Reaction online was immediate, and plenty of Saints fans argued that if the football traveled backward, it should have remained a live ball.

One commenter wrote that he had seen "this exact play hundreds of times count as a fumble," while another simply questioned how a ball could travel backward if the quarterback was already making a forward pass.

Perhaps the most interesting reaction came from someone identifying himself as a Lions fan who attended the game.

"As a lions fan that was at the game…i have no idea why this was not a fumble," he wrote.

The ruling may have been supported by the NFL's interpretation of its rulebook, but judging by the reaction, explaining it and convincing football fans it looked right are two very different things.

Controversial Call Looms Larger After Overtime Loss

New Orleans eventually erased a 21-point deficit and forced overtime behind a huge performance from Tyler Shough, who threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns.

Detroit scored first in overtime before Shough answered with a touchdown pass to Noah Fant. The Saints then attempted a two-point conversion for the win, but the attempt failed, giving Detroit a 31-30 victory. (Reuters)

That means the overturned defensive touchdown wasn't solely responsible for the Saints' loss. New Orleans had opportunities afterward to change the outcome.

Still, when a game is decided by a single point in overtime, taking seven points off the board on a play that looked like a strip-sack touchdown is naturally going to be remembered.

And while the NFL has now explained exactly why officials made the call, Saints fans will not be forgetting this anytime soon.