Yes, there was a bit of deja vu down at the goal line this week -- it's not your imagination.
For the second time in three weeks the Saints faced a 4th down in the red zone, trailing by a touchdown in the final minutes. Against the Rams a sack ended that hope, but afterward Darren Rizzi made it very clear that if the Saints had scored a touchdown, there'd have been no overtime. It would've been a 2-point try to either win or lose, all or nothing.
When the Saints found themselves in an almost identical scenario this week, the decision felt obvious.
"I’m not gonna sit here and tell you it was predetermined before the game. I just felt like the way the game played out, AK had gone out, he was out for the game. MVS got banged up. We started to lose more offensive weapons. You guys felt the momentum shift there at the end," Rizzi said.
The moment created the level of peak drama at the Superdome that had everyone on the edge of their seat. The Saints and rookie Spencer Rattler, who took over for Jake Haener at halftime, executed a perfect 2-minute drill that ended with a touchdown to Foster Moreau as time expired. It set up one play to win the game.
"We talked during the drive if we liked our 2-point plays and all that, so when we scored there was no doubt in my mind we were going to go for 2 and go for the win,” Rizzi continued.
The call was a sprint out to the right with the primary read Juwan Johnson as he broke to the flat. The ball appeared to be on target and catchable but Johnson couldn't haul it in. Game over, Commanders move forward, Saints still stuck in the mud, but with some hopeful optimism.
"I have zero regret, I don’t think the players do, either," Rizzi said. "We were in a position, the last play to win it. You’ve got one play from the 2 yard line to go win the game, with all that momentum, I just thought it was the right call.”
The result was disappointment, but the tone of the players and the vibe around the game was far from negative. The rookie QB came into the game and engineered a second-half comeback from 17-0 down. The Saints had as good a chance to win a game as you could've hoped on a day the home team entered as more than a touchdown underdog.
The confidence for Haener, who started, won't be boiling over, but the Rattler hype train is only getting started.
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After a rough showing in his first three starts earlier this season during Carr's absence, the lessons were clearly learned and we saw a much more confident-looking Rattler. He completely fewer than 50% of his passes on the door, but all four drives he led ended in scores, two TDs and two field goals.
"I think this time I just went out there and played my style of game," Rattler said. "I wanted to cut it loose, play free, and just happy Klint had that trust in our offense to go down there and execute and set up a chance to win the game.”
One play at a time, one game at a time. Someday soon the Saints will hope to have that one, final play go their way.