Al Michaels was left stunned after the New Orleans Saints pulled off a move that the legendary announcer had never seen utilized before.
With four seconds left in the first half with the Saints down 16-3 against the Denver Broncos , conventional wisdom would dictate that New Orleans would let the clock run out to end the half. However, Saints head coach Dennis Allen called a timeout, seemingly to call a play to end the half on a good note.
That said, Michaels was not impressed with Allen's decision to call a timeout. Rather, the 79-year-old was left wondering what would compel the 52-year-old to call a timeout with there being very little time left on the clock to do anything meaningful after the snap.
"But [the Saints are] gonna take another timeout, I guess," Michaels said to his partner Kirk Herbstreit. "Alright. For what practical purpose, you tell me." Herbstreit attempted to understand why Allen called a timeout, before ultimately conceding: "I don't know."
"Even you're stumped. To stump you is hard," Michaels continued, which led to laughter from Herbstreit. After the timeout, the Saints snapped the ball and proceed to just kneel, rendering the timeout called by Allen just seconds before completely moot since New Orleans ran out the clock anyway.
After seeing the play, an increduous Michaels couldn't help but share his thoughts on the bizzare play, noting that that instance was the first time he'd seen something like that happen. "Well, you take a timeout - that's the only time that I've ever seen a kneel down follows," an exasperated Michaels said.
Herbsreit also couldn't believe his eyes, making note of how the fans booed the Saints off the field because of either their play, the unnecessary timeout or both. That would not be the only misfortune for New Orleans however as its night went from bad to worse.
After winning the first two games of the season and scoring 91 total points, the Saints have lost five straight games, scoring a combined 86 points. Since those two games, the Saints are mustering only 17.2 points while allowing opponents to score 30.2 points per game, showing just how leaky the defense is.
Additionally, the game saw Broncos rookie Bo Nix make a baffling throw that was both overthrown and underthrown at the same time. Early in the first quarter, Nix was given ample time to read the defense and find a target to throw to since the defense was applying very little pressure.
After finding tight end Lucas Krull and receiver Troy Franklin, Nix threw the ball in their direction. However, it appeared as if Nix neither aimed at Krull nor Franklin as the ball sailed over the former's head landing feet away in front of the latter.
Despite the poorly thrown ball, Nix had a serviceable game all around. The 24-year-old completed 16-of-26 pass attempts for 164 yards. More importantly, the Broncos have won four of their last five games after losing the two games of the season.
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