Saints coach Dennis Allen apologizes to Arthur Smith Falcons after late TD in ro

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coach Dennis Allen apologized to his counterpart Arthur Smith after the Saints scored a touchdown at the end of their 48-17 blowout over their archrivals.An irate Smith had words with Allen during the postgame handshake between the two, while Allen reacted calmly. According to reports, Allen appeared to just say, "I understand" in response."That's not a play we intended to run down there to finish  Devin Hester Jersey out that game," Allen said in his postgame pre s conference. "That's not who we are, that's not how we operate. We should have taken a knee. So I apologize to them. We've got a good rivalry, and it's a heated rivalry, but there's a way we go about doing our busine s, and I wasn't happy about that."ADVERTISEMENT  Backup quarterback and the Saints players on the field overruled the coaching staff to run the play, in which running back scored a touchdown out of  Roquan Smith Jersey the formation usually used for victory kneel-downs. Williams had yet to reach the end zone with the Saints in 2023 after scoring an NFL-high 17 touchdowns with the Lions in 2022.The players admitted to doing so and some were remorseful about it, . Williams, however, the chance to score.Several key Saints players, including starting quarterback and star defensive end  Richard Dent Jersey , also supported their teammates' decision.Smith may have also had another reason for being upset. Both Smith and Allen entered Sunday with their job futures uncertain, but , Allen was more likely to be retained than Smith, who needed a win to increase his chances of keeping his job. Instead, the Falcons were humiliated in a game that ended Walter Payton Jersey  up not mattering for their slim playoff hopes, as the clinched an NFC South title with their 9-0 win over the on Sunday.Smith, who has failed to make the playoffs in each of his three seasons as Falcons head coach, could soon be out of a job this week depending on what Falcons owner Arthur Blank and the team's front office decide.Coaching Carousel: NFL Chicago Bears Jersey  Who's safe & Who's Out?      The Saints still currently have a slim chance of making the postseason as a wild card but need some help from the and in beating the and , respectively, which would allow New Orleans to slide up to the No. 7 seed in the NFC. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.