The final week of the regular season can bring chaos to any team, whether it’s a head coach on the hot seat or a team trying to fight to make the playoffs. The last game can also tell a lot about how a team has viewed their coach all season — and that was on full display during the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints game.
With less than two minutes left in the game, the Saints got in victory formation at the 1-yard line but decided to score a touchdown with the game already decided. After the game, Falcons coach Arthur Smith was visibly upset with Saints coach Dennis Allen because of the play. However, Allen didn’t call the play — the Saints players did.
In the post-game conference, backup quarterback Jameis Winston said they ignored their coach’s call to take a knee and decided to score a touchdown.
Arthur Smith should’ve cussed out Dennis Allen for this.
“Running up the score” is a myth in pro sports, if you don’t want them to score, stop them.
However; victory formation is when both teams agree the battle is over. Running a fake is bush leaguepic.twitter.com/KLErhYEG6h
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 7, 2024
“I apologized to D.A. because the play was ‘Victory.’ But I also explained to D.A. that it was a team decision,” Winston said. “I asked the guys, ‘What do you want to do?’ We know how much Jamaal [Williams] means to this team, and I understood from D.A.’s perspective.
“But D.A. didn’t condone it at all. However, we decided as a team to do it. And man, we got an interception to the 1-yard line. If we would’ve scored, would it still have been disrespectful?”
Jameis Winston apologized to Dennis Allen because the play call was "victory". But also explained to Allen it was a "team decision" to go for the Saints TD. "We decided as a team to do it." pic.twitter.com/BorTC6p4nm
— Garland Gillen (@garlandgillen) January 8, 2024
Winston continued to explain why the team decided to make the decision and overrule their coach’s call.
“The score was already 41-17, so I don’t know how much worse it can get. But I got a ton of respect for Arthur Smith and the coach that he is,” Winston said. “I didn’t want to disrespect [Smith]. That was not my intention. My intention was to lead the team that I’ve been with the entire year, and we made a collective decision that we wanted to get one of our guys that they fight with — blood, sweat and tears, every game — in the end zone. I’m going to feel good about that.”
