NFL coach berates Aussie punter in stunning sideline spray

Australian punter Matthew Hayball was visibly torn to shreds by the New Orleans Saints’ interim coach in a fiery sideline spray.

Australian punter Matthew Hayball was visibly torn to shreds by New Orleans interim head coach Darren Rizzi in a heated moment during the Saints’ 14-11 win over the New York Giants.

Hayball, who won a pre-season punting battle over fellow Australian Lou Hedley, was yelled at by his coach after having one of his punts returned for a touchdown midway through the second quarter.

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The play was called back on a holding call but that didn’t stop a visibly upset Rizzi from confronting Hayball on the sidelines, throwing his hat to the ground and pointing at a spot on the field as Saints running back Alvin Kamara stepped in to de-escalate the situation.

Hayball handled the situation well, nodding along and not once retaliating to the verbal barrage coming in his direction.

While it was not initially clear why Rizzi went after Hayball, the New Orleans coach later explained that the exchange was in response to Hayball “not executing the gameplan”.

“I'm a big accountability guy and that was a big part of our gameplan today and he wasn’t executing the gameplan,” Rizzi said.

“His last punt was outstanding and it really helped us — actually his last two punts. His second-to-last punt in particular was really good, it pinned them back and they didn’t get any return yards. That was what we were trying to do all day.

“Our first three punts weren’t good enough so I let him know that’s exactly how I felt. It probably came across a little bit more than that but me and Matt are fine.”

Watch the sideline spray in the video above

Darren Rizzi yelled at Matthew Hayball.

Darren Rizzi said Alvin Kamara was trying to play the peacemaker during the exchange between him and Hayball. He said Kamara told him "I didn't know you could lose your sh-- like that on the punter." Said he was being a leader.

— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) December 8, 2024

Fortunately for Rizzi the Saints ended up escaping with the win against a lowly Giants team that struggled to get anything going on offence early, with quarterback Drew Lock failing to complete his first eight passes of the game.

New Orleans had already jumped ahead 7-0 at that point after second-year running back Kendre Miller punched it in following chunk gains for Juwan Johnson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling earlier in the drive.

In what was an otherwise relatively dour affair, the Giants had a chance to send the game to overtime but Graham Gano’s 35-yard field goal attempt was tipped and missed.

The Saints lost quarterback Derek Carr late in the game for a hand injury and Rizzi did not have an update on his condition.

RESULTS SHAKE UP TOP OF THE DRAFT ORDER

Speaking of the Giants, they are one of two teams along with the Las Vegas Raiders who are expected to be picking a potential future franchise quarterback in next year’s draft.

And while they were already well positioned to do just that, Jacksonville’s 10-6 win over the Tennessee Titans has re-set the top of the draft order.

Both the Raiders and Giants are now 2-11, with Las Vegas going down 28-13 to Tampa Bay on Monday.

The Raiders, who now have the first overall pick, also are now without their top two quarterbacks after Aidan O’Connell (knee) was carted off.

He will seemingly join Gardner Minshew (collarbone) on the sidelines, while the Giants are also expected to take a quarterback high in the draft after parting ways with Daniel Jones.

Shadeur Sanders and Cam Ward are the two top quarterback prospects in next year’s class, although there are big questions over both.

And the Giants in particular need to make sure they pick the right guy, because frustration is clearly building.

‘FIX THIS DUMPSTER FIRE’: SAD SIGHT FOR GIANTS

The Giants fell to 2-11 with a loss to the Saints and are on pace for one of the worst seasons in the history of a franchise that is “celebrating’’ its 100th season.

The last time a banner flew overhead with such negative feedback from disgruntled fans was back in 1978 when in the third quarter of a game against the Cardinals at Giants Stadium, a plane flew a banner that read, “15 YEARS OF LOUSY FOOTBALL … WE’VE HAD ENOUGH.’’

Giants ownership took that message to heart, wholesale changes were enacted, with George Young’s hiring as the general manager the main impetus for the turnaround of the franchise.

It remains to be seen what happens with this year’s team.

Giants co-owner John Mara insisted back when his team was 2-5 that there would be no changes in-season with general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll and that he did not anticipate making changes with them for 2025.

The Giants are currently on an eight-game losing streak and if they lose out the rest of the way and finish 2-15, it will be difficult for Mara to keep his word.

— New York Post

A plane with this message for Giants ownership is flying over the stadium hours before they play the Saints: “Mr. Mara Enough — Plz Fix this Dumpster Fire.” pic.twitter.com/7DOUsGof1z

— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 8, 2024

NEW YORK NIGHTMARE OFFICIAL AS JETS OFFICIALLY OUT OF PLAYOFFS

Another miserable loss in another miserable Jets season.

This week, the Jets blew an eight-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost 32-26 in overtime to the Dolphins.

There was not much suspense left but this loss officially eliminates the Jets from playoff contention and drops them to 3-10 this year.

While fans may rejoice about draft pick positioning, this one will sting the Jets players and coaches. They played their best game of the year for three quarters and then saw the game slip away in the fourth quarter, only to regain the lead, only to see the Dolphins tie the game in the final minute and win it in overtime.

The Jets took a 26-23 lead with 52 seconds left in the game on a 42-yard field goal from Anders Carlson.

But Malik Washington then returned Carlson’s kickoff 45 yards to the Miami 46-yard line. The Dolphins gained 20 yards on six plays and Jason Sanders kicked a 52-yard field goal to tie the game at 26-26 with seven seconds left in regulation.

The Dolphins won the coin toss to start overtime and went 70 yards on eight plays. Tua Tagovailoa hit tight end Jonnu Smith for a 10-yard touchdown to end the game.

This was the Jets’ fourth loss in a row and ninth in 10 games. This is their ninth straight loss in Miami.

— New York Post

The Jets are out of playoff contention. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

AUSSIE MAILATA SAYS EAGLES WERE ‘S***TY’ WITH NERVY WIN

Elsewhere, star Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith said Philadelphia’s offence is “not on the same page” after the Super Bowl contenders escaped with a 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers.

The Panthers have been much-improved since second-year quarterback Bryce Young’s return after being benched earlier in the year following a few rough weeks to start the season.

That continued on Monday and in fact a few key drops from rookie receiver Xavier Legette, including a particularly costly one on Carolina’s final drive of the game, meant Young played even better than his final stat line of 19/34 for 191 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

Young did particularly well navigating pressure, often connecting with reliable veteran receiver Adam Thielen, who had nine receptions for 102 yards.

Running back Chuba Hubbard, meanwhile, had a big day on the ground with 26 carries for 92 yards and a score while rookie Jonathon Brooks, who had only recently returned from a torn ACL, went down again with a non-contact injury in worrying signs.

Elsewhere, Smith and A.J. Brown only combined for 80 receiving yards as Philadelphia did what it needed to do, riding Saquon Barkley and the rushing game instead as the superstar running back picked up 124 yards on 20 carries.

Saquon Barkley had another big game. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

With it, Barkley passed LeSean McCoy’s single-season rushing mark of 1607 yards set in 2013.

Australian left tackle Jordan Mailata said Barkley’s record-setting game was the bright spot in what was otherwise a disappointing game that left the team feeling “s***ty”.

“It was good. It wasn’t like someone died. I’m just critical,” Mailata later said of the mood in the locker room.

“The mood was good. You’ve just got to remember this is the NFL, they compete too. They’ve been on a tear the last four weeks this team. We did not take them for granted.”

The #Eagles won a game against #Panthers that was clearly ugly, a game where Jordan Mailata told me on our ⁦@SportsRadioWIP⁩ Eagles broadcast right after the team was “shitty”. So what was locker room like. pic.twitter.com/9CuszfkVro

— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) December 8, 2024

FINAL SCORES — WEEK 14

Lions 34 Packers 31

Steelers 27 Browns 14

Giants 11 Saints 14

Dolphins 32 Jets 26 (OT)

Titans 6 Jaguars 10

Vikings 42 Falcons 21

Eagles 22 Panthers 16

Buccaneers 28 Raiders 13

Originally published as NFL coach berates Aussie punter in stunning sideline spray