The New Orleans Saints were hoping to get some points on the board before halftime at Lambeau Field during Monday night's game against the Green Bay Packers, but that proved too much for the offense as they went into the locker room trailing 21–0.
It wasn't as if the Saints didn't have a chance to score. They started moving the ball upfield and were pushing toward field goal range before halftime. After a pass from Spencer Rattler to Kevin Austin Jr. was fumbled out of bounds, the team took its time getting back to the line of scrimmage for the next play.
All the while, the clock was running.
By the time Darren Rizzi and Co. noticed the clock wasn't stopped and called a timeout, 31 seconds had ticked away. Rizzi was irate that the clock situation wasn't communicated to him, but his rage fell on deaf ears. With 15 seconds left in the half, Rattler took an inopportune sack, taking New Orleans out of field goal range and forcing the team to use its final timeout.
The subsequent Hail Mary attempt didn't even reach the end zone, and the Saints walked into the locker room with their heads bowed. Rizzi was irate, and fans on social media weren't cutting him any slack for his lack of awareness about the clock.
Saints wasted over 20 seconds because they didn't expect the clock to run after they fumbled out of bounds 😅
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 24, 2024
Darren Rizzi is NOT happy pic.twitter.com/0yqWvoaPxn
Clock management not a strong suit so far for the Saints.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) December 24, 2024
Saints' failure to score on that drive with the clock management and sack was somehow their lowest point of this night yet.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) December 24, 2024
The Saints' clock management:pic.twitter.com/RljUULCfdL
— theScore (@theScore) December 24, 2024
how did the saints just… not know the clock was running? 💀
— Optify 🦁 (@optifyy_) December 24, 2024
Darren Rizzi making Anthonio Pierce look like Andy Reid with this clock management
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 24, 2024
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Darren Rizzi, Saints Were Roasted By NFL Fans for Egregious Clock Mismanagement.
