NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 13: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints looks to throw a pass during the NFC Divisional Playoff at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)The refs have not been in the Saints’ favor over the last several years. That is, until Sunday when New Orleans took on the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco looked impressive on its opening drive, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, despite being down a few key starters. The 49ers then tacked on a field goal after the Saints muffed a punt around midfield. It was all Saints after that.
Drew Brees and the New Orleans offense added 17 points in the second quarter, and got a bit of help from the refs in the process.
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Kentavius Street beat the Saints’ pass protection with ease, quickly getting to Brees in the process. Brees had no other choice than to hold onto the ball and absorb the sack, which was clearly a clean and legal hit. But as we’ve come to expect from the refs when it comes to veteran quarterbacks, the refs called the sack a roughing the passer penalty.
Well guys… we found it. The worst roughing the passer in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/PTGxVeqV3L
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) November 15, 2020
This might be the worst roughing the passer call in NFL history. What else is the defensive lineman supposed to do in that scenario?
All we know is if refs start calling penalties on hits like this, we might as well stop calling football a physical sport.
Drew Brees and the Saints currently lead the San Francisco 49ers 17-10 at halftime.
