Former NFL Refs Agree Kyle Rudolph Pushed Off on Game-Winning Touchdown

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: The Saints lose again on a controversial no-call, the Cowboys finally get rid of Jason Garrett and more.

Should he have been flagged?

It wasn’t nearly as egregious as Nickell Robey-Coleman laying out Tommylee Lewis but for the second year in a row, the Saints were sent packing from the playoffs after a controversial no-call on a potential pass interference. 

On a third-and-goal in overtime, Kirk Cousins found Kyle Rudolph in the back corner of the end zone to give the Vikings an upset victory, though the celebration couldn’t begin immediately because NFL officials had to review the play to see if it should be overturned for offensive pass interference. 

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This angle gives a clearer view of how much Rudolph pushed P.J. Williams.

Former NFL refs John Parry and Terry McAulay—now working for ESPN and NBC, respectively—both agreed that Rudolph should have been flagged for interfering with Williams.

“We looked at all of the angles that Fox afforded us, and Fox gave us some great views,” NFL head of officiating Al Riveron told a pool reporter after the game. “There is contact by both players, but none of that contact rises to the level of a foul. This is consistent with what we’ve done all year long, we left the ruling on the field. We let it stand.”

Saints fans can complain all they want but there’s no universe in which that play gets overturned on review. All year long, NFL officials have refused to overturn instances of pass interference much clearer than this one. 

There’s something cruelly ironic about the Saints being screwed so badly by a play like this that the NFL instituted a rule change and then not being allowed to benefit from that rule change. 

Everything about this was bizarre

Everyone knew Jason Garrett was getting fired by the Cowboys after Dallas’s Week 16 loss to the Eagles. Anyone who didn’t know realized it was definitely coming after the Cowboys missed the playoffs. And yet it took until last night for it to finally happen.

The Cowboys even made a few bucks off the news with the press release sponsored by an electronics company. 

Get a load of how NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport phrased it when the news finally came down. 

You gotta be kidding me with that “allowed them to do so” nonsense. You can’t consent to being kicked to the curb. But some reporters don’t want to make their subjects look weak, lest they lose a future source. 

The best of SI 

Was Tom Brady’s loss to the Titans a seismic turning point for the Patriots? ... Kirk Cousins finally came through in a big game and shook the perception that he can’t win in the playoffs. ... Chol Marial is ready to turn from a viral sensation into a true college hoops star. 

Around the sports world

Bill Belichick says there’s no deadline for Tom Brady to decide whether he’s returning for the 2020 season. ... The strange case of Yoenis Cespedes’s 2019 ranch accident got even stranger with the revelation that it was caused by a wild boar. ... Kevin Love is at odds with the Cavaliers.

No flag on Jadeveon Clowney for this helmet-to-helmet hit?

Carson Wentz went to the locker room after taking this hit from Jadeveon Clowney #SEAvsPHI pic.twitter.com/gdwK1UXCn0

— Kevin Boilard (@KevinBoilard) January 5, 2020

Clowney says he’s expecting to get death threats from Eagles fans because they’re the “worst fans in the world.”

It took an injury to Carson Wentz but Josh McCown finally got to play in a playoff game at age 40

Josh McCown was choked up at the podium explaining what it meant to him and his family to play his first playoff game.

Gave it everything he had 👏 pic.twitter.com/5ivIFxpJcI

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 6, 2020

Russell Wilson asked about Wentz’s health in his postgame handshake with Doug Pederson

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The Eagles lost but at least Zach Ertz made it out alive

It’s a miracle the Bills didn’t lose right here

Not even rooting for the Eagles can make Philadelphians like Aaron Boone

Hopefully this isn’t Marshawn’s last TD

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Vince Carter is truly unparalleled

Vince Carter has checked in and officially becomes the first player in NBA history to play in four decades.

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) January 5, 2020

Not sports

Mark Zuckerberg was spotted perusing post-Christmas deals for a TV at Costco. ... A Wisconsin high school teacher is accused of pooping in a public park twice per day for two years. ... A pair of Indiana twins was born on opposite sides of the decade. 

Post Malone got another enormous face tattoo

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An Air Canada flight from Montreal lost a wheel on takeoff and landed without an issue

Everyone is talking about this monologue

Ricky Gervais held absolutely. nothing. back. in his 5th and ‘final’ #GoldenGlobes monologue pic.twitter.com/ZU2VzTE028

— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) January 6, 2020

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.