A time when the celebration turned into instant shock. The New England Patriots surely beat the New Orleans Saints on the road 25-19 on Sunday. But it was a long afternoon for Drake Maye, DaMario Douglas, Stefon Diggs, and referee Adrian Hill. Late in the first quarter, Douglas caught a deep pass from Maye and scored a 61-yard touchdown.

But the refs threw a flag on Diggs, and just like that, the 61-yard TD was wiped out. Right after that went down and the Patriots secured a 25-19 win over the Saints, the team shared a pool report with referee Hill on the OPI call on Diggs. Here’s how the conversation went down:

“Question: What was seen to call offensive pass interference on Stefon Diggs that nullified a touchdown catch by DeMario Douglas?

Hill: On that play, we ruled blocking downfield by number eight, early during the play. So, 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.

Question: The follow up question, mechanically, with the later timing of the penalty and subsequent announcement as both teams had their special teams units on the field, how did that unfold, the timing?

Hill: The official was processing the play and then he came to me over the O20 (official-to-official communications system). Because it was a long-developing play, he had to rewind back to what happened at the beginning of the play, and process that.”

Let’s take a look at how things went down during the game. The play happened on a third-and-2 late in the first quarter. While Maye took some time to adjust in the pocket, he eventually found Douglas deep into the field. The second-year quarterback tossed a dime to Douglas, the wideout caught it, broke a tackle, and ran it all the way for what looked like a 61-yard touchdown.

But right when Douglas and the Patriots started celebrating, the refs threw a late flag. The call? Offensive pass interference (OPI) on Stefon Diggs. The real twist, though? Diggs and the Saints’ cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry were surely engaged in a hand-fighting. But the players weren’t involved in the play.

Fast forward to now, and the refs explained that since Diggs started blocking a defender downfield before the pass was thrown, that early block counts as offensive pass interference. But still, the signs were clear: The refs made a few questionable calls on Sunday. And it cost the Patriots the most.

Mike Vrabel doesn’t have any explanation for Stefon Diggs’ costly OPI

Takeaways from the Patriots vs the Saints Week 5 game: New England walked away with their fourth win of the season, while the Saints took their fifth loss. The Pats put up 333 total yards (260 through the air and 73 on the ground) compared to the Saints’ 296 (223 passing, 73 rushing). And of course, both teams had their fair share of questionable calls from the refs.

However, one thing was clear: The refs’ decisions cost the Patriots the most. We’re talking about one touchdown and 113 yards of offensive effort taken away, including that 61-yard touchdown. So, when Mike Vrabel was asked about the costly Stefon Diggs OPI, you could bet the HC had no explanation.

“Don’t really have much of an explanation. … that was what they felt they saw,” Vrabel said, per Chad Graff, The Athletic’s senior writer.

But it wasn’t the only questionable flag from the refs. On the very next snap, Saints corner Quincy Riley got hit with a defensive pass interference call. And that pushed the Patriots’ offense up to midfield. As things stand, Vrabel has no explanation, while Hill has given his explanation. But the way things went down after the OPI, it’s safe to say that the Patriots’ offense didn’t let the bad call derail its drive.

Right after the Saints’ DPI, TreVeyon Henderson ripped off 20 yards in just three plays. And then Maye found Kayshon Boutte for a 25-yard touchdown to cap the drive. Just like that, New England went up 14-6 heading into the second quarter. Final score: 25-19, and an end to a dramatic day for both teams.