Saints’ Jameis Winston explains decision to go for TD that got Arthur Smith so mad.
After the game in Week 18, Saints quarterback Jameis Winston acknowledged responsibility for the play and explained why he
did it. The Atlanta Falcons head coach, Arthur Smith, was not happy with Dennis Allen and the New Orleans Saints for running
up the score with a Jamaal Williams touchdown late in the game.
“I apologized to DA because the play was victory,” Jameis Winston said, via Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
also explained to DA that it was a team decision. I think when you have tam morale, and I asked the guys, I said, ‘Guys, what do
you want to do? We know what Jamaal means to this team.’ And I understood from DA’s perspective. I give him that. DA didn’t
condone that at all, he didn’t. However, we decided as a team to do it. And man, we got an interception to the 1-yard line. You
know? So if we would’ve scored, would it have still been disrespectful?”
The Saints defeated the Falcons 48–17 to close the season on a high note, but they were unable to secure the other victory they
needed to qualify for the postseason, as the Tampa Bay Bucs defeated the Carolina Panthers to win the NFC South.
Both teams will now move on to the offseason and attempt to assemble squads that can qualify for the playoffs in 2024, despite
the controversy surrounding Jameis Winston and the team’s choice to get Jamaal Williams into the end zone at the very end.
Whether Dennis Allen and Arthur Smith are still with their teams at the end of the following season will be interesting to watch.
Leave a Reply