NEW ORLEANS — Sean Payton’s face was still flush with frustration when he grabbed a hold of the lectern. Not nearly enough time had passed to temper the anger within him, and the postgame apologies offered by the NFL office had served to irritate him only more. Someone had to answer for it all — the penalty flag that was never thrown, the game-changing momentum and the stolen victory. And in the aftermath of another crushing postseason blow, Payton wasted no time informing everyone who was to blame for the Saints’ season being over. “They blew the call,” the New Orleans Saints head coach said, stating the obvious about the officiating crew in Sunday’s NFC championship game. A missed penalty call late in regulation helped set the stage for a dramatic 26-23 overtime win by the Los Angeles Rams, who earned a trip to Super Bowl LIII, where they’ll face the New England Patriots. And it left the Saints stunned beyond belief. “Being that it happened right there, in front of the person who would be the one making that call, and everyone in the stands and everyone watching at home on TV, yeah, that makes it more difficult,” said quarterback Drew Brees, who completed 26 of 40 passes for 249 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The referees failed to throw a flag for blatant pass interference by Nickell Robey-Coleman late in the fourth quarter, even though the Rams cornerback collided helmet-to-helmet with Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis before the ball even got there. So, instead of the Saints receiving a first down and the chance to run some time off the clock, New Orleans was forced to kick a field goal. The Rams tied the game with 15 seconds left in regulation before icing it in overtime, thanks to a 57-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein. And it didn’t take long for Payton to reach out to the NFL. “Just getting off the phone with the league office,” Payton said during his postgame news conference. ” … It was simple: they blew the call. [Senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron] said it should not have never been a call. Not only was it interference, it was helmet-to-helmet. They couldn’t believe it. Story continues “We spoke initially, then I called to follow up,” he added, “And first thing Al said when I got on the phone was, ‘We messed it up.’ … There’s too much at stake. And, listen, it’s a hard job for those guys ‘cause it’s happening fast. But I don’t know if there was ever a more obvious pass interference call. Here is the NFC championship game. So, it’s a tough one to swallow.” This victory should have been theirs. This impressive playoff run should have continued for another two weeks. The faithful fans, who made the Mercedes-Benz Superdome tremble so violently that pieces of the ceiling fell to the ground, and filled this city with an infectious spirit of superiority, deserved to claim what they believed belonged to them: a trip to Atlanta. Even an electronic billboard on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway echoed the sentiments of the Bayou: “We Were Robbed.” THIS JUST IN: On the Pontchartrain Causeway… pic.twitter.com/32LNrYw28b — WWL-TV (@WWLTV) January 20, 2019 In truth, a game the Saints had dominated for multiple quarters was squandered, not simply because of an official’s miscalculation, but because of their own inability to adjust, to regroup, to call better plays and to seize the moment. But while his players sat in stunned silence in their locker room, Payton was at the podium, detailing a miscarriage of justice. “Man, there were a lot opportunities, though, but that call puts us on first-and-10 … it’s a game-changing call,” said Payton, who coincidentally is on the NFL’s competition committee. Payton later credited the Rams for making enough plays to win, “but for a call like that not to be made, man, it’s just hard to swallow.” Even Robey-Coleman, the perpetrator of the penalty, acknowledged after the game that it was blatant pass interference. The officiating crew, however, would not. “It was a judgment call by the covering official,” referee Bill Vinovich said, via a pool report. “I personally have not seen the play.” He said it was not a reviewable play and when asked if the timing in the game had any impact on the no-call, he replied, “Absolutely not.” If last year’s “Minnesota Miracle” was a dagger for New Orleans, Sunday’s officiating debacle was downright infuriating. And the league’s apology did little to assuage its anger. “You can’t take it back,” Lewis said softly. “We came here to win a game,” added wide receiver Michael Thomas, who was held to only four catches on seven targets for 36 yards and no touchdowns. The magic finally ran out for the Saints. And in their dead-quiet locker room, no one was ready to accept the outcome. And neither was anyone else at the Superdome. The anxiety was palpable inside the Bunker Club Lounge, where patrons and security guards and public safety officers huddled near TVs in the bowels of the stadium to watch the Saints grind out the ‘W.’ “Ain’t no way we’re not going to Atlanta,” one female officer said, smiling. This missed pass interference penalty late in the fourth quarter stunned the Saints beyond belief. (AP) But as quickly as the stadium begun rocking with unbridled, cocky energy, the pivotal no-call by the referees sucked all of the life — and hope — out of the most ardent of fans. “That’s that bulls—,” an inebriated Saints fan wearing an Alvin Kamara jersey cried out, as other fans stood with mouths agape. Back on the field, Brees was attempting to get his offense to regroup in overtime. “You move on to the next play,” said the former Super Bowl MVP. “You can’t let it bother you. It had no bearing in overtime. At least not for me.” That, however, couldn’t be said for everyone else inside the Superdome. “We had control for all 60 minutes and we ended up losing in the final overtime,” said Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan. “At the end of the day, we needed to take the field and create a big turnover. “Was it out of our control? We let them get close to us. We ended up having 13-point lead at one point in time. You can’t ever let your foot off the gas.” Subscribe to The Yahoo Sports NFL Podcast Apple Podcasts• Stitcher • Google Podcasts More from Yahoo Sports: • Forde: Duke’s Williamson not interested in shutting it down for draft • Iole: Pacquiao’s win over Broner turns talk toward Floyd rematch • Hardy disqualified for ugly illegal knee in UFC debut<doc-sep>NEW ORLEANS -- It's not easy to perfectly sum up a controversial loss in just two words, but that's exactly what the New Orleans Times-Picayune did on Monday following the Saints' 26-23 loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship game. With two simple words, not only did the paper sum up the game, but it also summed up the feeling of every Saints fan around the country. Here's a look at the paper's Jan. 21 edition. "Reffing Unbelievable." Everything about this front page is perfect. The picture shows the obviously bad no-call on the pass interference. The headline blames the refs and the pun allows fans to cuss in their heads while they say it. If I'm the Times-Picayune, I'm trademarking the phrase and slapping it on T-shirts so I can sell them to Saints fans all around New Orleans and then I would tell those fans to wear the shirts to any game being officiated by the NFC title game crew for the rest of time. The New Orleans Advocate also devoted its front page to the loss, and although the headline wasn't as impressive, it did slip in a subtle shot at the officiating crew in a sub-head that Saints fans will probably appreciate, "Saints tried but were unable to beat Rams AND Referees." As you can tell, the people of New Orleans are slightly bitter about this loss, and just in case you're wondering how bitter, more than 300,000 Saints fans have already signed a petition demanding that the NFC title game gets replayed with the winner going on to face the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII. If you still haven't marked your calendar for the Super Bowl, the game will be kicking off from Atlanta on Feb. 3 and will be televised by CBS and you can stream it right here. If you're thinking about buying a new TV for the big game, CNET has you covered. They shared their best picks for every budget.<doc-sep>In one night, the Rams vindicated two off-seasons’ worth of bold personnel moves intended to turn a middling team from St. Louis into a champion in Los Angeles. Having pierced the aura of the Superdome, where Payton and quarterback Drew Brees had won their previous six playoff games, the Rams will now face New England on Feb. 3 in Atlanta. It is not a surprise that the Patriots – who also advanced with an overtime victory, by 37-31 at top-seeded Kansas City – will be there. They always are. But the Rams have gotten this far because, at bottom, every move they made after losing to Atlanta in the playoffs last year, all the off-season splurges and in-season roster churn, positioned them to thrive amid the jackhammer-in-your-ear din that they confronted on Sunday in the Superdome. “We didn’t feel pressure,” said cornerback Aqib Talib, one of several new players on the Rams’ revamped defense. “We applied it.” This N.F.C. title-game matchup registered somewhere between sunrise and sunset on the inevitability scale. Since September, New Orleans and Los Angeles had jockeyed for the conference’s top seed, with one coaching mastermind named Sean striving to duplicate the success of another. No other matchup embodied the season’s offensive boom better than having the conference’s most prolific teams — who combined for 80 points in the Saints’ Week 9 home victory over the Rams — vying to outscore each other for a second time. On Sunday, a full quarter elapsed before the Rams looked comfortable — or, at least, they no longer looked sleeping-above-an-alligator-pit uncomfortable — and then gradually, they chiseled away at the Saints’ lead. They trailed by 13 after the first quarter but by just 3 at halftime and ultimately tied the score, at 20-20, on Zuerlein’s 24-yarder with 5:03 left in the game. The other day in the Saints’ cafeteria, Brees, newly 40, glanced up and saw himself on television. The channel was showing the N.F.C. championship game from 2010, the last time New Orleans played in the Super Bowl. His teammates ribbed him about all the hair he had nine years ago, all the hair he seems to have lost. Seizing the chance Sunday to lead them to another, Brees drove the Saints to the Rams’ 13. On third-and-10, Lewis scooted out of the backfield and ran a wheel route. Brees saw him and released a pass down the near sideline — the Saints’ sideline — toward Lewis, who was now inside the 5-yard line. The ball never reached him. Robey-Coleman made certain of that.<doc-sep>
David J. Phillip/Associated Press Almost immediately after the game, the NFL's league office confirmed to New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton the officiating crew missed two penalties on the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game. "Just getting off the phone with the league office," Payton said to reporters, per the Times-Picayune's Josh Katzenstein. "They blew the call." According to Payton, the NFL said Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman should've been flagged for pass interference and a helmet-to-helmet hit when he made contact with Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis before the ball arrived, per Kristian Garic of WWL Radio in New Orleans. Robey-Coleman admitted he was concerned with breaking up the pass at any cost. "Yes, I got there too early," he said, per The MMQB's Robert Klemko. "I was beat, and I was trying to save the touchdown." The play in question happened on 3rd-and-10 with one minute, 48 seconds left in the game. Rather than receiving an automatic first down and setting up a 1st-and-goal, New Orleans had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Wil Lutz to take a 23-20 lead. Greg Zuerlein tied it up on a 48-yarder with 15 seconds left. Payton didn't hide how much the blown calls stung for his team. Video Play Button Videos you might like The Saints' 2017 season ended when Case Keenum connected with Stefon Diggs for the "Minneapolis Miracle." While that was a heartbreaking way for the year to end, New Orleans didn't necessarily have a reason to feel aggrieved. Sure, Marcus Williams completely whiffed on his attempted tackle, but Diggs' touchdown reception was mostly a fluke play that only happens so often. Sunday's game was different in that seemingly everybody but the officiating crew could see Nickell-Robey interfered with Lewis. While the mistake didn't single-handedly cost the Saints the game, it undoubtedly provided the Rams with a lifeline.