The call against Stefon Diggs ended up not costing the Patriots any points, as they recovered to score a touchdown six plays later.
The call against Stefon Diggs ended up not costing the Patriots any points, as they recovered to score a touchdown six plays later.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
NEW ORLEANS — Referee Adrian Hill explained his late offensive pass interference call in the first quarter of Sunday’s Patriots-Saints game which erased a 61-yard DeMario Douglas touchdown.
On a third and 2 from New England’s 39-yard line, quarterback Drake Maye launched a deep ball for Douglas, who spun away from his defender and ran into the end zone. The Patriots celebrated the 61-yard score, only to have it nullified after the special teams unit had taken the field for the point-after attempt.
According to Hill, Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs committed offensive pass interference while blocking Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.
“On that play, we ruled blocking downfield by No. 8, early during the play,” Hill said in a pool report after New England’s 25-19 win. “If there is a situation where a player blocks downfield, it’s not a foul until a pass is thrown, so you kind of put that in the bank. And then the pass was thrown downfield later, that created the offensive pass interference.”
This "offensive pass interference" erased a 61-yard TD for the #Patriots. Outrageous call. pic.twitter.com/lmeUzCbE7S
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) October 12, 2025
The penalty seemed awfully late. Even Maye acknowledged the delay, saying he had already gone to the sideline and was about to sit down before realizing the offense had to come back onto the field.
Hill attributed the timing to the logistics required in making the call.
“The official was processing the play and then he came to me over the [official-to-official communications system],” Hill said. “Because it was a long-developing play, he had to rewind back to what happened at the beginning of the play, and process that.”
The penalty backed the Patriots up to their own 29-yard line. Six plays later, Maye found the end zone again, on a 29-yard throw to Kayshon Boutte.
“It’s that next play mentality,” Douglas said. “We got to get another touchdown then. Kayshon ended up scoring, so, man, it stayed in our room. I love that.”
Officials flagged the Patriots 11 times on Sunday for a loss of 65 yards.
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com.Follow her @nicolecyang.