Jameis Winston deserves a break. Unhappy with the audible he called, shifting from a kneel down to a run play? Tough luck. Teammates, past and present, rushed to Winston’s side after he and the Saints orchestrated a late-game touchdown for running back Jamaal Williams in a resounding win over the Falcons.
Former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, now jobless, and Saints head coach Dennis Allen, who wanted to run out the clock, don’t have to approve. Pundits and Falcons fans don’t need to find it polite. New Orleans relishes it more because their rivals don’t. They closed Atlanta’s season in a particularly embarrassing manner.
Longtime Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, venting on X (formerly Twitter), vigorously defended Winston on Monday. “Get off [Winston’s] back,” Graham, with six seasons with the Saints, declared. “This man is the best teammate I’ve ever had. Loves this city, this game and embodies everything you can ask for in a leader. Was a rare situation, and we all take responsibility. Nobody thought it would get blown out of proportion. Also, f*** the Falcons.”
Defensive end Cam Jordan, running back Alvin Kamara, and former tailback Mark Ingram echoed support for Winston on social media. Starting quarterback Derek Carr, questioned about the Saints’ final play, also backed Winston.
With 1:10 left in New Orleans’ 48-17 victory over the Falcons, Allen instructed Winston to adopt the victory formation. Despite being on the verge of another touchdown, the gracious move was not to punch it in from a yard out. But, remember the old saying, all’s fair in love and war? The Saints-Falcons rivalry teeters close to war.
Considering this, Winston and his crew aided Williams and ran up the score on the Falcons, a double win for the Saints and their fans. Williams, the 2022 rushing-touchdown leader, expressed gratitude for his teammates’ decision after the game. “I appreciate my teammates more than anything,” Williams said. “They see what I go through, what I’ve been going through this whole year. Trying to help the team in any way I can. I appreciate them for getting me a touchdown.”
Smith confronted Allen at midfield, expressing his displeasure, though Allen attempted an apology. In postgame remarks, Allen laid bare that it was the players, not him, who made the call. “They did that on their own,” Allen said. “That’s not acceptable.” He acknowledged Smith “should be” upset.
Winston and his teammates clarified that running up the score wasn’t their aim; doing right by their teammate mattered most. Winston told the media post-game, “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. 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. This is the thing: It’s about the team. It’s not about regrets. It’s not about anything else. It’s about us as a team making a collective decision. But I do apologize to Dennis. I apologize to DA because that was not his call.”
