The Vikings Beat The Saints In Overtime On A Potential Offensive Pass Interference Call That Wasn’t

The Minnesota Vikings were heavy underdogs to march into New Orleans and beat the Saints on Wild Card weekend, but they delivered another iconic moment in the home team’s frustrations with NFL officiating. Saints fans were outraged about a potential pass interference call that went unreviewed by NFL officials on what proved to be the game-winning touchdown catch by Kyle Rudolph.

Kirk Cousins and the Vikings had the upper hand for much of regulation on Sunday, taking a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter. But Taysom Hill and the Saints would not be denied, scoring early in the fourth and tying the game on a last-second field goal to send the game to overtime.

Minnesota marched down the field in overtime on the strength of a long bomb from Cousins to Adam Thielen, a 43-yard strike that put the Vikings at the two and set up a touchdown that would win the game in sudden death.

But the score would not be without controversy, as many believed Rudolph pushed away from the defender with the ball in the air.

Many felt there was pretty clear pass interference on the play, but there was no call.

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It appeared at first as though the play wasn’t reviewed at all, but Al Riveron spoke to the pool reporter after the game and said they did indeed look at the play under review, only to deem it “hand fighting” from both players and not OPI.

Though the non-call against the Saints last postseason sparked the rule revision that allowed teams to challenge pass interference, few calls were actually changed throughout the course of the year. And it seems the league, despite some contact and an apparent bump just before the ball was delivered, didn’t warrant additional scrutiny in one of the biggest non-decisions of the postseason.