New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Jameis Winston made a controversial decision in his team’s blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons during the season finale versus their NFC South division rivals.
Immediately after the game, Winston’s head coach, Dennis Allen, took the heat for the call. During a post-game interview, Jameis Winston acknowledged the fact that he and his teammates decided to run a play that goes against the unwritten rule.
Coming into the Sunday afternoon game, both the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons needed the combination of a win and a Tampa Bay loss in order to make the playoffs. The Falcons struck first when quarterback Desmond Ridder threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith to take a 7-0 lead.
The Saints would respond and tie the game when Derek Carr threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to A.T. Perry. It was a competitive 30-minute game of football as the Saints and the Falcons were tied 17-17 at halftime.
The Saints took complete control of the game in the second half. Late in the fourth quarter, the Saints held a 41-17 lead. With 1:13 left to go in the game, the New Orleans Saints offense went against the unwritten rule.
It was the first and goal as the Saints lined up in the victory formation at the one-yard line. Victory formation occurs when the game is no longer in question. The quarterback will take a knee to end the play as soon as he receives the snap. This is how the winning team runs the remaining game time off the clock.
In the Saints-Falcons game, the Saints ran a play-out-of victory formation and scored a touchdown. When the time finally expired, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith walked across the field to share a few choice words with the Saints head coach Dennis Allen.
“Why the f**k would you do that, man?! Why the f**k did you do that?! That’s f***in bulls**t!” Arthur Smith shouted as he refused to shake Dennis Allen’s hand.
Dennis Allen started his post-game press conference by apologizing to Smith and the Falcons. He went on to verbalize the fact that the Saints offensive players decided they wanted to get running back Jamaal Williams his first touchdown of the season.
During his post-game interview Jameis Winston confirmed what Dennis Allen stated earlier. Winston admitted scoring the touchdown was an idea he suggested to the team.
“I apologized to D.A. because the play was ‘Victory.’ But I also explained to D.A. that it was a team decision. I think that when you have team morale and I asked the guys, ‘What do you want to do?’ We know how much Jamaal means to this team. And I understood from D.A.’s perspective,” Winston stated.
With the loss to the Saints, the Atlanta Falcons fell to a record of 7 wins and 10 losses and were officially eliminated from the playoffs. The Saints improved to 9-8 but were eliminated when Tampa Bay and Green Bay both won their games.
As for the Saints and the Falcons, the NFL football season has officially ended, but the controversial victory play will fuel the fire when the two rivals meet next season. However, Arthur Smith won’t be a part of the next rivalry game because, at midnight, the Falcons decided to fire their head coach.
