One of the zaniest NFL plays in a long time took place at the end of the first half of the New Orleans Saints’ home preseason clash against the Tennessee Titans Sunday. There, Brayden Narveson tried a 58-yard field goal, but it fell just short of the goalposts. But the Saints’ Samson Nacua caught it, brought it out, and went all the way to the opposing end zone…except it was ruled that he was out at the Titans’ three-yard line following a hit from the Rams’ Thomas Odukoya, which was even more unfortunate with this being the last play of the half. That led to quite the call:
“DON’T TELL ME HE STEPPED OUT AT THE TWO!”
“HE’S OUT! IT LOOKS LIKE HE’S OUT AT THE THREE!”
Insane play.
https://t.co/VoC1l3h3kH — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 25, 2024
Here’s a replay of that:
The play drew a ton of comment. Here are a few of the reactions to it:
Incroyable indeed. As Tom Gower noted, this would have been the longest non-scoring play ever during a NFL regular-season game if it had come during one:
The longest non-scoring play in an NFL game that counted is only 104 yards, if you’re wondering how historic Nacua’s 106-yard return was. https://t.co/RhIGxME2EI
— Tom Gower (@ThomasGower) August 25, 2024
There have been quite a few at 104 yards, though, as Katherine Terrell noted:
And this led to a lot of Twitter/X reaction, including from some who saw this as something emblematic of the Saints:
The Saints have rewritten the book on tragic ways to finish an improbable play https://t.co/SjKxe9e7A0
— Alex Hickey (@bigahickey) August 25, 2024
We’ve found our “microcosm of the season” play and it’s only preseason! Nicely done, everyone! https://t.co/WxRtfbKJTI
— David Gladow (@davegladow) August 25, 2024
The saints giveth, and they taketh…I was excited til he stepped out
https://t.co/DOTHu5jY1X — ™ Cowboy Tyler
(@_tylermatherne) August 25, 2024
Mannn this season is going to be a LONNNNNNNGGGG one https://t.co/9Q5v2jJW0R
— Deuce ♠️ (@DosofDeuce) August 25, 2024
The 26-year-old Nacua played wide receiver for Utah for five seasons from 2016-20, then finished his college career playing for BYU in 2021. The Indianapolis Colts signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022, but he didn’t make it out of camp. But he played for the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers in 2023 and the UFL’s Michigan Panthers this year, then signed with the Saints earlier this month. He is the older brother of Los Angeles Rams’ receiver Puka Nacua, who he played with at BYU in 2021. We’ll see if he makes the Saints’ final roster, but he certainly provided one of the top highlights of their preseason.