The New Orleans Saints went into their final preseason game with a few questions on the back of their minds. The first was who might emerge as the team’s number two quarterback, and the other was who might make the final 53-man roster. The Saints got answers to both of those questions with their loss to the Tennessee Titans.
The Saints Quarterback Battle Was Settled
So, it was all about the quarterback battle. None of the starters appeared for the Saints in this match, but that was to be expected. Starter Derek Carr didn’t get any reps because he’s locked in at number one. However, both Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler have been competing for the backup job. At first, Haener was in the lead, though Rattler hasn’t given up. This is what made the contest with Tennessee so important. Haener started two quarters and Rattler started two, and the winner of the job was fairly obvious.
Haener completed eight of his 17 pass attempts for 87 scoreless yards and no interceptions. Meanwhile, Rattler completed seven of his 13 attempts for r105 yards and a touchdown. The stats don’t even tell the full story either. When Haener was running the offense, it felt stagnant. It wasn’t being run poorly, it was more so that there wasn’t much life injected into it, and no spark was noticeable from the eye test. The second that Rattler stepped into the game, everything changed. Rattler led multiple scoring drives when he was on the field, and he had MULTIPLE dropped passes from his receivers that would have significantly improved his statistical numbers. It was very clear which quarterback played better.
The Ending Was Atrocious
Fast forward to the end of the game, it was the fourth quarter. This was the quarter that Rattler started, and when the game was coming down the final drive, with the Saints needing a touchdown, it appeared like Rattler would get another shot at a game-winning drive. After Lal, he led one of them in the first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. Instead, Haener was sent out for the attempted game-winning drive. And let me tell you, it was a horrendous final drive. With under one minute left, the offense looked like they had no idea what to do. They started with a handoff inside their 20-yard line and followed it up with a few intermediate throws. Then, with around 15 seconds left, Haener scrambled for a few yards and slid with no timeouts, leading to a scramble by the offense to try and get one more snap. They successfully snap the ball, then two of the receivers don’t run routes due to possibly thinking it was a spike, and the game ended just like that.
Much of that end wasn’t Haener’s fault, but it didn’t look good, and Rattler never lacked confidence the entire time he was out there. It’s safe to say that he likely won the job.
Rest Of The Team Had Their Moments
Now that we got that out of the way, it’s time to look at the rest of the game. The Saints had wonderful performances out of their running backs. Jacob Kibodi had 12 rushes for 59 yards and two touchdowns, with Jordan Mims taking five for 33 yards behind him. In the passing game, A.T. Perry led with two receptions for 67 yards, and Equanimeous St. Brown had a beautiful touchdown reception thrown by Rattler. However, I noted this earlier, but there were far TOO many dropped balls from the wideouts, and it came from everyone, not just one person. That can’t happen in a regular-season game.
As for the defense, a few players continued to build upon their standout preseason performances. The most notable was Rico Payton, who had a big sack early on. He seems safe to make the roster with the way that he went out and played. Anfernee Orji had a solid game, and the same goes for Jordan Howden. Unfortunately, the defense as a whole just didn’t do well. The Titans sent out their starters for the first few drives and cruised down the field on the Saint’s defense. Granted, the starters weren’t playing, but still. The defense was having a very hard time defending against the passing game in the first half, and in the second half, they couldn’t stop the ground attack. This wasn’t a strong showing from that unit all night, and it helped the Titans’ offense feel good about themselves at the end of the day.
Special Teams Decisions
The final note from this game was that special teams had some moments. Kicker Blake Grupe solidified the job as the starter (even though he was already well in the lead) by making both kicks including a 54-yard field goal. And as for the punters, the Saints just announced that Lou Hedley will be waived, meaning that Matt Hayball officially won the job. Hayball had two punts for 97 yards including one inside the 20. Hedley had two punts for 90 yards, though had a few throughout the preseason that didn’t look very good. All in all, the Saints will shift their focus toward cutting down the roster and putting the preseason behind them.
Coverage by CJ Carlson