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New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough continued to show massive improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 as he led the team to a 24-17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Shough scored the go-ahead touchdown from the 1-yard line and New Orleans’ defense locked down Baltimore’s offense to seal the win in the closing moments. But, as with most NFL games, the officiating came under fire over Shough’s touchdown.
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Officials ruled that Shough got the ball over the goal line but replays of the touchdown led fans to wonder whether he actually did. It appeared, at some point, Shough lost the ball as he was pulled down. It also appeared a Ravens defender grabbed his facemask to bring him to the ground.
The NFL world wondered how Shough’s play was ruled a touchdown.
An NFL executive defended the ruling.
"We exhausted all available angles and could not prove clear and obvious that he did not break the plane of the goal line," Mark Butterworth, NFL vice president of instant replay, told a pool reporter after the game.
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Baltimore got the ball back with 1:28 to play but Lamar Jackson couldn’t lead the team down the field.
Regardless, Shough was 27-of-34 with a touchdown pass and a rushing score. He had 252 yards through the air.
"It's a hard play on the goal line because ... sometimes they lose sight of the football. I think it's a challenging play for everyone," Saints head coach Kellen Moore said. "Fortunate for us to get that. Obviously we're going to go for it in that situation. Chance to score a touchdown. If not, we're forcing them to be on the minus-1 and go the long way."
The Saints bounced back from a close loss last week against the Detroit Lions.
Shough was 35-of-56 with 410 yards and three touchdown passes.
Both New Orleans and Baltimore moved to 1-1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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