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Darren Rizzi, Saints Were Roasted By NFL Fans for Egregious Clock Mismanagement

Darren Rizzi was fuming.

Karl Rasmussen

New Orleans Saints head coach Darren Rizzi argues with referee Alex Kemp.
New Orleans Saints head coach Darren Rizzi argues with referee Alex Kemp. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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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.

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Karl Rasmussen
KARL RASMUSSEN

Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News team for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.

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