New Orleans • Officiating Safety Department
The complete published grievance file: disputed calls against the New Orleans Saints, with game details and supporting sources.
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Officials ruled Tyler Shough's fourth-quarter play a fumble, giving Las Vegas the ball. Replay upheld the turnover. Two weeks earlier, replay erased a Saints defensive touchdown against Detroit on a disputed forward-pass ruling. From this Saints fan's seat, the inconsistency is the grievance: where was that interpretation when Shough needed it?
A Saints defensive touchdown became an incomplete pass after replay reviewed Jared Goff's release. Officials explained that his throwing motion had started before contact, making it a forward pass. We saw a lost touchdown—and a standard we'd be asking about again in Week 3.
Carl Granderson brought down Jaxson Dart with his arms, without landing his body weight on him, but officials flagged roughing the passer. Kellen Moore questioned the call afterward, saying he saw a sack. A disputed penalty—not an acknowledged NFL error—and another reason to question the standard, even in a game the Saints won 26–14.
Chris Olave took an unpenalized hit to the head, suffered a concussion and lost the ball. Antoine Winfield Jr. returned the fumble for a Buccaneers touchdown. The Saints lost a receiver and gave up six points on the same play. New Orleans' own recap called it an unpenalized head shot; the Saints lost 51–27.
Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss contacted Alvin Kamara before Derek Carr's pass arrived in the second quarter. No interference flag came, and the Saints' possession ended in a field goal. The missed call later became part of national scrutiny of Brad Allen's officiating crew. New Orleans lost 24–15; the no-call denied the Saints a fresh scoring opportunity, not a guaranteed touchdown.
A questionable hands-to-the-face penalty on Tyrann Mathieu erased a third-down stop. On the same fourth-quarter drive, a 41-yard pass-interference flag on Marshon Lattimore put Minnesota near the goal line, while Adam Thielen's grab of Lattimore's facemask went uncalled. The disputed sequence helped set up the Vikings' go-ahead touchdown in a 28–25 Saints loss.
Marcus Williams intercepted Ryan Tannehill in the end zone, but a questionable roughing-the-passer flag on Kaden Elliss erased the turnover. Tennessee instead received first-and-goal and scored a touchdown. A disputed flag turned a Saints takeaway into Titans points in a game New Orleans lost 23–21.
Malcolm Jenkins tackled Jamaal Williams around the waist, but officials assessed a 15-yard horse-collar penalty. Contemporary local reporting questioned the flag because Jenkins did not tackle Williams in the horse-collar area. A disputed call—not an acknowledged NFL mistake—that advanced Green Bay's drive in a game the Saints lost 37–30.
Kyle Rudolph extended his arm against P.J. Williams before catching the overtime touchdown that ended the Saints' season. No offensive pass-interference flag came, and replay let the score stand. The NFL defended the contact as insufficient for a penalty, so this remains a disputed judgment call—not an acknowledged mistake. Minnesota won 26–20.
Trey Hendrickson knocked the ball loose from Jared Goff, and Cameron Jordan scooped it up for an apparent 87-yard touchdown. Officials prematurely ruled an incomplete pass. Replay corrected the ruling to a fumble and Saints recovery, but the whistle meant Jordan's return could not count. A potential go-ahead touchdown disappeared from a game tied 3–3; the Saints eventually lost 27–9.
Replay correctly awarded Michael Thomas a first down near halftime, but officials applied the required 10-second runoff from the wrong clock setting. The Saints were left with 16 seconds instead of 31. NFL officiating chief Al Riveron acknowledged the mistake. New Orleans lost valuable time on its scoring opportunity before halftime, though the Saints ultimately won 30–28.
Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Tommylee Lewis before the pass arrived. No flag. A missed interference call in the NFC Championship, and the grievance that still hurts.
With the Saints trailing 20–17 late in the fourth quarter, Sean Payton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after coming onto the field to argue with an official. The penalty gave Atlanta the first down that sealed the game. Payton said his frustration with the officiating had boiled over. This is a rivalry grievance, not an established blown call: the coach's conduct drew the flag. Still, watching the Falcons finish a win with another penalty belongs in the petty file.
With 1:22 remaining and the score tied 23–23, Denver blocked Wil Lutz's extra point and Will Parks returned it for two points. Saints players believed Parks stepped out along the sideline, but replay let the return stand, and Denver won 25–23. The NFL said the available angles could not conclusively distinguish his white shoe from the white boundary. A disputed replay ruling—not an admitted error—and a possible Saints lead turned into the winning points for Denver.
Trailing 20–7 in the fourth quarter, Jimmy Graham caught a pass and fought toward the goal line before Atlanta stripped the ball. Officials ruled a fumble and Falcons recovery; replay left the turnover standing because Graham's arms obscured the ball's position. Drew Brees believed Graham had crossed the plane. A disputed goal-line ruling—not a replay-proven touchdown—that hurt the comeback in a 30–14 loss that eliminated the Saints from playoff contention.
Jimmy Graham caught an apparent winning Hail Mary on the final play of regulation, but offensive pass interference against Perrish Cox erased the touchdown. New Orleans instead went to overtime and lost 27–24. Cox's dramatic fall fueled the argument, but Graham did push off, and the NFL defended the flag as correct. A controversial finish we still remember—not an acknowledged officiating mistake.
Leading 23–17 with 2:22 left, the Saints appeared to stop Detroit on fourth-and-five until Rafael Bush was flagged for interference against Reggie Bush. The disputed call gave the Lions fresh downs, leading to the winning touchdown in a 24–23 loss. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Nick Fairley pulled down the intended Saints screen receiver without a holding flag; even a Lions-site film breakdown concluded that foul should have been called. Two late grievances, with the interference call remaining a subjective judgment rather than an admitted NFL error.
Junior Galette was closing on Tom Brady when an offensive lineman's arm wrapped around his neck on the decisive fourth-quarter play. No holding flag came, and Brady found Kenbrell Thompkins for the winning touchdown with five seconds remaining. New England won 30–27. Contemporary Saints coverage highlighted the uncalled hold with images of the contact; this is a documented missed-holding grievance, not an NFL-admitted error.