Saints Left Confused by Fumble Ruling in Loss to Raiders

A Costly Turn of Events

The New Orleans Saints fell to a 35-27 defeat against the Las Vegas Raiders, leaving them with a 1-2 record for the season. The Saints were leading 27-16 in the third quarter, but they fell apart after a series of mistakes.

The turning point came in the fourth quarter when Saints quarterback Tyler Shough was sacked by Raiders linebacker Malcolm Koonce. The ball came loose, and defensive end Maxx Crosby recovered it. This was the first of four straight turnovers for the Saints in the final quarter, allowing the Raiders to score 19 unanswered points and secure a 3-0 record.

The Fumble Controversy

The big talking point after the game was whether Shough's play should have been ruled an incomplete pass instead of a fumble. Shough believed he had started his throwing motion before the hit.

"I thought I threw it. Me personally, I thought my arm was going forward," Shough said after the game. He added that he was not exactly sure on the rule but knew he had to get the ball out quicker.

Saints edge rusher Chase Young was seen on the big screen shaking his head. He agreed with his quarterback, saying, "I thought his intent was he threw it forward. But never mind."

Double Standards for the Saints

This is the second time this season the Saints have been on the wrong side of a quarterback fumble ruling. In Week 1, Chase Young sacked Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Young forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, but officials overturned it. They ruled it an incomplete pass because of a rule that says any intentional movement of the hand starts a forward pass.

This time, the ruling went against the Saints. Mark Butterworth, the NFL's vice president of instant replay, explained the decision. He said that Shough lost control of the ball before his hand started moving forward.

Butterworth said, "All we are looking for is the hand coming forward with control to make it an incomplete pass. In the play that happened today, the hand was not coming forward with control of the ball."