Saints' Drew Brees Says Officiating Error in 1st Half vs. Texans 'Can't Happen'

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees said the officiating error that cost his offense 15 seconds late in the first half of Monday night's 30-28 Week 1 victory over the Houston Texans "can't happen."

The crew reviewed a play to determine if Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas reached the first-down marker, which then required a 10-second runoff. But it incorrectly subtracted the time from the 26-second mark (the time of the review) rather than the 41-second mark (when the play finished).

Brees told reporters:

"I still don't know what the deal was. Someone came up to me in the locker room and acknowledged that a mistake was made, that 10 seconds should not have run off but they should've had 31 seconds left. Instead, we only had 16.

"So, listen, that can't happen. I mean, that's a game-changer, right? We had to kick a 58-yard field goal or whatever it was. ... If we had 15 more seconds, are you kidding me? We're going to get closer. That's a game-changer. That can't happen."

Saints kicker Wil Lutz missed a 56-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, but he got redemption by connecting on a game-winning 58-yard attempt on the final play of the game.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron confirmed the timing mistake after the game.

The league office could have dealt with another headache if the Saints didn't pull out the win at home. A borderline roughing-the-kicker penalty was called on New Orleans after Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed an extra point with the game tied at 27. He made his second attempt after the penalty.

New Orleans fans, who were already on edge with NFL officials after the shocking pass interference no-call on the Los Angeles Rams' Nickell Robey-Coleman in last season's NFC Championship Game, wouldn't have taken kindly to another controversial loss.

Instead, Brees and the offense used the final 37 seconds of the fourth quarter to drive into field-goal range, setting Lutz up for his heroics at the buzzer.