NEW ORLEANS — Steve Gleason had some harsh words for the NFL officials after the New Orleans Saints were robbed of a defensive touchdown in Sunday's rematch against the Los Angeles Rams.
With the Rams driving inside the Saints 20-yard line, quarterback Jared Goff was hit and fumbled the ball. Cam Jordan picked it up and raced more than 80 yards for an apparent touchdown.
But the officials on the field ruled it an incomplete pass and the whistle blew. After review, it was clear that Goff fumbled and that the ball should not have been whistled dead. Instead of a 10-3 lead, the Saints had to settle to remain tied at 3.
Immediately following the play, Gleason and others used Twitter to express their frustration with the officiating.
"I've been around high level football for 25 years or so, and I've always held that you can never blame the referees, but three consecutive game changing calls by @NFL referees... It's pretty remarkable incompetence," Gleason wrote. "Stay resilient Who Dats."
After the game, head coach Sean Payton didn't want to spend too much time on the call, saying that he felt the team was "whipped upfront" by the Rams.
"When we get poor officiating or a poor call like that, there's nothing we can do about that," Payton said.
Jordan, who was denied the 87-yard touchdown, also didn't want to talk too much but made his feelings clear.
"It's self-explanatory," he said. "I'm sure the NFL will come out with a statement. It was a fumble from the jump. Everyone knew it, everyone was going full out. Well, not everyone knew it."
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