Officials offer explanation for one controversial call in Patriots-Saints game

It's always unfortunate when the referees and officials become a story in a sporting event. In Sunday's Patriots-Saints game, they may have emerged as the story, receiving significant attention from fans during and after the game.

The crew, led by seventh-year referee Adrian Hill, threw a total of 20 flags in the game. That was just a tick over their previous season average 18.4 per game, which ranked as sixth-most in the NFL heading into Week 6.

Multiple calls during Sunday's drew heavy scrutiny, but perhaps none more than an offensive pass interference on Stefon Diggs late in the first quarter. That wiped out a 61-yard touchdown connection between Drake Maye and DeMario Douglas.

It's not just that the penalty erased a big play, but how it was called. The flag was thrown very late, and on further review it did not look like Diggs engaged with his defender outside of any amount of normal contact for an NFL play.

After the game, Hill did a pool report with ESPN's Mike Reiss as the head of the crew (line judge Julian Mapp was closest to Diggs when the penalty was committed). He gave his answer on why the flag was thrown.

"On that play, we ruled blocking downfield by number eight, early during the play," Hill explained. "So, if there is a situation where a player blocks downfield, it's not a foul until a pass is thrown, so you kind of put that in the bank. And then the pass was thrown downfield later, that created the offensive pass interference."

Wide receivers are not allowed to start blocking downfield on a pass play before the ball is thrown. However that assumes the contact between Diggs and Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry is ruled a block and not a wide receiver and cornerback engaging at the top of the route - an act that is common throughout a football game - which appears to be the case as McKinstry reaches out towards Diggs.

Perhaps more importantly, there's the matter of the flag being thrown so late. Hill addressed that as well.

"The official was processing the play and then he came to me over the O20 [official-to-official communications system]," Hill says. "Because it was a long-developing play, he had to rewind back to what happened at the beginning of the play, and process that."

As Hill mentions in his first answer, offensive pass interference for blocking does not become a penalty until the pass is thrown, so the flag may not come out immediately. However, replays show the flag still hasn't been thrown well after Douglas already has the ball downfield, much later than would typically be the case.

"It was a really late call. We were almost on the sideline. I was about to sit down," Maye recalled after the game. Douglas also shared he'd already gotten to the sideline.

In the end the Patriots still managed points on the drive, with Maye hitting Kayshon Boutte for a touchdown a few plays later. But the call erased what would have been a highlight play for Maye took a chunk out of what was a breakout game for Douglas after a slow start to the season.

It also wasn't the only questionable call from Hill's crew on Sunday. Far from it. There was another phantom OPI on Diggs late in the game, made more frustrating by a non-call on defensive pass interference on the next play on a deep throw to Mack Hollins. On the Saints' side of things, there was also a questionable roughness call on cornerback Alontae Taylor on Boutte's second touchdown, that allowed the Patriots to attempt a two-point play from the one-yard line instead of the two. They converted on a QB sneak.

This isn't the first time Hill's crew has run into issues this season, either. It's actually the second week in a row Hill has had to answer questions after a game - last week he was questioned about four different calls by a pool reporter following the Denver Broncos' win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

On top of the questionable calls, Hill's crew at times left the game dragging. Elongated conferences after flags or other key decisions (such as huddling about where to set the play clock after the Patriots' final challenge - a key decision in the game), hurt the flow of the game as an entertainment product at times.

Ultimately, the officiating didn't seem to impact the overall outcome of the game. But as has been the case in many games around the league this year, the referees came away as a storyline.