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Jimmy Graham coughs up Saints' playoff hopes on controversial call

Eric Edholm

The New Orleans Saints have been wondering where Jimmy Graham has been this season. They found out where he was in the worst way on Sunday in a critical game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Saints found themselves in a 20-7 hole with the pitiful NFL South race in the balance, and yet they were driving deep into Falcons territory with a chance to cut it to a one-score game at the start of the fourth quarter.

Drew Brees found Graham with a pass right at the goal line, and the television angle appeared to show Graham just crossing the threshold of the end zone.

But cornerback Kemal Ishmael stripped Graham of the ball, recovered it and ran it back to the Atlanta 20-yard line. Replay upheld the fumble call on the field. It was the turning point of the game.

Pool reporter Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune caught up with head referee John Parry after the game and was given his explanation of what he saw on the play.

On what referee John Parry saw on the replay: “We spent the full 60 seconds, and we looked at every (replay) angle. We primarily focused on the angle that was — I wouldn’t say exactly — but was pretty close to being down on the goal line to try to determine if it was either a score and/or a catch-fumble recovered by Atlanta. There was nothing clear and undisputable to make a change to the ruling from the field. If we would have ruled score, it probably would have stayed as a score. If we ruled catch-fumble, recovered Atlanta, nothing enough to change it.

On if Parry had trouble seeing the ball on the replay because of the Saints’ black jerseys: “I don’t think that was an issue. It just wasn’t enough to say this amount of football has clearly penetrated the goal line to make the change.”

Notice the key words: "nothing clear and undisputable." Is that a satisfying enough answer?

Graham scored on the Saints' next drive, cutting the score to 20-14, with 5:52 left. But given a chance to win the game, Brees threw an interception with 2:35 left from his own 10-yard line, which drove a stake in the Saints' season during an eventual 30-14 loss.

The Saints were eliminated from the playoffs in what was their fifth straight home loss — consider that for a moment. They had several chances this season to grab ahold of the division but never could take care of business in the Superdome, the building they had dominated opponents in prior to this season.

The NFC South will come down to an elimination game in Atlanta, with the Falcons hosting the Carolina Panthers. The winner of this much-mocked division either will be 7-9, 7-8-1 or — no kidding — 6-8-2.

That would happen, wouldn't it?

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!