NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore held his arms out with his palms up early in the fourth quarter, then waved one arm toward the officials dismissively.
A play on which quarterback Tyler Shough’s arm was hit as he tried to throw — ruled a fumble on the field — had been upheld on replay review early in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders. To the Saints, the play was eerily similar to one against Detroit two weeks
ago, when Saints defensive end Chase Young hit the Lions' Jared Goff, who lost the ball for what was initially ruled a fumble return for a touchdown. After a review, that call was changed to an incomplete pass.
Similar play. Different calls. Both went against the Saints.
Shough’s fumble was the first of four turnovers the Raiders forced on the Saints’ final four possessions as they overcame a 27-16 second-half deficit to win 35-27 on Sunday.
“I thought I threw it,” Shough said. “Me, personally, I thought my arm was going forward. I’m not exactly sure on the rule. It doesn’t really matter. I’ve got to get it out sooner regardless.”
The explanation of the ruling that hurt the Saints in an overtime loss in Detroit was that even though the ball went backward when Young hit Goff, it was not a lateral because Goff’s intent was to throw forward. Shough did not get the same latitude when defensive end Malcolm Koonce forced the ball out and Maxx Crosby recovered at the Raiders 45.
“All we are looking for is the hand coming forward with control to make it an incomplete pass,” Mark Butterworth, the NFL's vice president of instant replay, said after the game. “In the play that happened today, the hand was not coming forward with control of the ball.”
During the review, several Saints players gestured as if they expected the call to be reversed. A chorus of boos accompanied the decision to uphold it.
“It was hard to get much communication” from the officials, Moore said. “There’s frustration, obviously. I’ve got to keep my composure.”
First-year Las Vegas coach Klint Kubiak said he never was worried the call would be overturned. Koonce agreed.
“When I hit him, I saw the ball come up,” he said. “I just assumed it was a strip-sack.”
Six plays later, Las Vegas took the lead on Kirk Cousins' touchdown pass to tight end Cody White. Cornerback Hezekiah Masses intercepted Shough on the Saints’ next series, setting up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Brock Bowers.
The Saints final two possessions also ended with lost fumbles.
Crosby stripped Shough on fourth down from the Raiders 20 and linebacker Nakobe Dean stripped tight end Juwan Johnson on the Saints’ final possession, allowing Cousins to run out the clock.
The Raiders cited the fourth-quarter takeaways as the difference.
“We knew the defense was going to have to show up the whole second half,” Koonce said. “We just got a little bit of momentum and started balling.”
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