‘They should’ve had a second left to kick the field goal!’

Preseason or not, football is serious in Louisiana. Many fans around the NFL have already moved on to Week 3 of the preseason, but some New Orleans Saints faithful haven’t gotten over last week’s result. When rookie safety Jonas Sanker intercepted a tipped pass in the final seconds against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it looked like he was pushed out of bounds with just one second left on the game clock — plenty of time for the field goal unit to go out and give either Charlie Smyth or Blake Grupe a chance at what would have been a 41-yard game winner.

But instead, the officiating crew ruled that Sanker went out of bounds as time expired, and the exhibition game ended with a 17-17 tie. There is no overtime in preseason this year, so neither team walked away from this one feeling like a winner. That hasn’t stopped Saints fans from lobbying for a do-over. And if it had been a regular season, where wins and losses matter, they might have gotten their wish.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t unfamiliar territory for some members of the officiating crew. Patrick Turner was the down judge who missed the infamous “NOLA No-Call” pass interference penalty back in the 2018 NFC championship game, and this was his first return to the Caesars Superdome since that day. Turner still hasn’t worked a Saints game in New Orleans during the regular season.

There’s no guarantee they would’ve made it, had they gotten the chance. Grupe led the NFL in misses from under 30 yards in 2023, and Smyth has shanked several tries from that distance at training camp this summer (though he did nail a 37-yard game winner last preseason). It may not have changed anything, but guys on the fringe of an NFL roster like Smyth would probably welcome the opportunity to pad out their resume. What do you think?

I don’t think they looked at that well enough I think that’s one second left..

— Logan Graffia (@thesoulman57) August 17, 2025

They didn’t want to see the Saints seal the comeback. They should have gotten a field goal try.

Nice 4th quarter to build on for the rest of the preseason. #Saints

— Mik’d Up (@Mikdup_8) August 17, 2025

The New Orleans Saints should kick a field goal after the final anyway in protest.

Absolutely ridiculous.

— Ian Vanroy (@IvanroyFootball) August 17, 2025

Refs screwing the Saints in preseason even. They should’ve had a second left to kick the field goal!

— Toph Sheers (@TopherSheerin) August 17, 2025