One of the more viral moments of Week 18 was the on-field confrontation between Arthur Smith and Dennis Allen following the Saints' victory over Atlanta. It was a lopsided win for New Orleans and Smith seemed to take issue with the fact that they were running up the score, specifically on their final offensive possession. With a 41-17 lead and just 1:10 on the clock, Jamaal Williams barreled into the end zone from the 1-yard line instead of the unit simply taking a knee and running out the clock.
That led to Smith jawing with Allen on the field immediately after the game, but it sounds like Allen's players went rogue with the play call. Allen apologized during his postgame press conference and noted that they were supposed to run out the clock. Backup quarterback Jameis Winston, who was under center for the play in question, told reporters that the play-call was "victory" and to kneel, but the players decided to rouge and give Williams the touchdown.
"Well I apologize to D.A. because the play was victory, but I also explained to D.A. that it was a team decision," Winston said, via the New York Post. "I asked the guys, I said, 'What do you want to do?' We know how much Jamaal means to this team. And I understood from D.A.'s perspective, so I give him that, but D.A. didn't condone that at all. However, we decided as a team to do it."
Winston added that he has respect for Smith and that the intent behind the decision was to uplift the Saints more than rub the loss in the Falcons' nose.
"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," Winston continued. "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."
In the hours after that game, the Falcons fired Smith after a 7-10 season that did not result in a playoff berth. As for the Saints, Allen currently remains as the head coach after a 9-8 campaign, but the team also did not qualify for the postseason and acts like the one Winston and the offense pulled off on Sunday does bring up the question of how much of a grip he has on the roster.
