The New Orleans Saints had extra time to prepare for a showdown with the Chargers, but you'd have never guessed that.
It was a struggle throughout, particularly for an offense that was held out of the end zone and pulled the plug on rookie QB Spencer Rattler in the second half of a 26-8 loss.
Where do things go from here? That's a good question. The Saints have now lost six straight, their first such losing streak since 2005, the final year of the Jim Haslett era.
Even with a stout defensive showing that largely shut down the run and forced six punts, this game never really felt all that close throughout.
With all that in mind, here are my stock up and stock down players after the latest loss in the quickly spiraling 2024 season.
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THREE DOWN
The Rattler show
Let me start by saying: Rookie QBs struggle. It’s not that complicated. It just happens. It doesn’t mean that QB can’t be good down the line, it’s just a fact of NFL life, and why I think teams should be trying much harder to avoid turning to them before they’re ready.
What today made clear to me: Spencer Rattler simply isn’t ready. You could give him a pass in Week 7, his first NFL start. You could give him a pass in Week 8, a tough situation on a short week with zero playmakers and a patchwork OL. It’s much more difficult to explain this one away.
For one thing you had 10 days to come up with a plan and execute it. There was plenty of time to self scout and improve on things. It sure didn’t look that way.
Most concerning to me was the accuracy. Whether it was a high fastball to Taysom Hill that he couldn’t corral, a low ball to Alvin Kamara that he couldn’t corral, a screen that forced a running back to try to make a catch over his head. These are throws that NFL quarterbacks simply can’t miss, particularly for a guy whose calling card is the golden arm. For one thing those passes are more likely to get dropped or worse, tipped up in the air for an interception (which was very nearly the case in the first half), but they also set players up to get destroyed. Had Taysom caught that ball over the middle fully extended, it’s likely he gets plastered right in the ribs … you know, those same ribs that cost him the past three weeks.
The final line: 12-24 for 156 yards. No turnovers, but some close calls.
The drives:
- 4 plays, 32 yards - punt (2:39)
- 3 plays, 15 yards (-10 penalty) - punt (1:53)
- 4 plays, 22 yards - punt (2:24)
- 4 plays, 8 yards (-10 penalty) - punt (2:00)
- 5 plays, 43 yards (-10 penalty) - punt (1:41)
- 9 plays, 52 yards (-4 penalty) - FG (1:32)
- 3 plays, 7 yards - punt (1:42)
- 4 plays, 9 yards - punt (2:12)
- 6 plays, 20 yards - punt (2:16)
It’s just become clearer and clearer that the kid is a bit overwhelmed out there. I agreed with the decision to sit him down in this game, and I think the best thing you could do for him is to let him digest and assess how this has all gone, continue to work in the background and hopefully the next time he steps in (and I do believe there will be a next time) things are going a bit slower around him.
Another thing that’s become very clear: If you thought it was Derek Carr who was holding this team back, I think we’ve gained a pretty good appreciation for exactly how much he was actually covering up.
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DBs at the catch point
If we’re looking for silver linings in this game (I don’t know why you would be), I actually thought the defense held up well. If you force any team’s defense to sit on the field the entire game, things are inevitably going to break against you.
What frustrated me was that you actually got this game to go the way you wanted. JK Dobbins? He was bottled up for the majority of the game. Outside of a long Justin Herbert run that represented one of the bigger gaffes, the Saints allowed just 73 yards on 23 carries to the Chargers’ stable of backs.
Where the Saints failed was in 1-on-1 coverage on the outside against one of the weaker groups of WRs you’ll see in the NFL, and it happened to everyone. In the first half it was Marshon Lattimore getting beaten twice by Simi Fehoko, the first for what looked like it should’ve gone for a TD but the Saints got bailed out by it happening just outside the 2-minute warning, meaning there was no booth review. On the next play it was a pass interference down inside the 5 that was paid off for a touchdown a few plays later.
Fast foward to the third quarter and it was Alontae Taylor in perfect position on a ball to Ladd McConkey that not only was caught, he broke a tackle and went 60 yards for a touchdown. That was on 2nd and 9.
Later in the game it was Kool-Aid McKinstry appearing to be in good position, but getting rooked by Jalen Reagor, a practice squad elevation, for a big gain on a 2nd and 12 play.
Oh, and the putaway touchdown Herbert just threw the ball where Ugo Amadi was standing and it came down for a TD anyway.
I think Lattimore was playing hurt and he finished the game on the sidelines with the same hamstring injury that he’s been working through. The other three — and several other plays throughout the game — were examples of guys needing to go up and make a play, and they simply didn’t. You’re probably asking too much of Kool-Aid at this point in his career, but the script was stop the run and take advantage of the lack of passing game weapons. You did the first part as well as you could’ve hoped. You didn’t do the second part.
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OL execution
There were some realistic reasons for optimism coming into this game, and it was in large part due to the fact that for the first time since Week 3 you could at least say you had 80% of your starting offensive line back in action.
There were some moments in this game where that felt like an advantage, but far too often it felt more like a weakness than a strength. I’ll have to go watch the film to make a true assessment of how the blocking went, but it certainly wasn’t great.
Most frustrating, though, were the penalties. The Saints somehow only had 7 penalties for 66 yards in this game, because it sure felt like more. That’s probably because of when they occurred and what they wiped out.
- Q1, NO 35, 2nd & 9: Lucas Patrick, holding ... wiped out a 6 yard pass to Olave
- Q2, LAC 44, 2nd & 10: Lucas Patrick, holding ... wiped out 15 Kendre Miller run
- Q2, NO 49, 1st & 10: Connor McGovern, ineligible downfield ... wiped out 4 yard pass to Juwan Johnson
- Q3, LAC 35, 2nd & 7: Trevor Penning, holding ... wiped out 10-yard Kendre Miller run
- Q4, LAC 21, 3rd & 5: Taliese Fuaga, false start (at Chargers 21)
When you’re playing a game without your starting QB the margin for success is already razor thin. Wiping out that many positive plays with mistakes, several of which really didn’t impact the play and didn’t have to happen, makes success feel impossible.
At some point the Saints will get Erik McCoy back and I think that’ll make a big difference, but it’s feeling like that’ll be too little and far too late to save this season.
A few more
The Kendre Miller experience was on full display in this game. Every time he touched the ball it seemed like something good happened. Whether he was making guys miss, breaking off a big kick return, whatever, he’s got juice. The problem is he can never stay healthy, and he finished this game in the locker room nursing yet another hamstring injury, this time to the opposite leg. Hopefully it’s not as significant as the one that cost him the entirety of training camp and the first month-plus of the season, but man is it frustrating. … too many drops. I don’t have the exact number and there were also off-target passes, but much like with the O-line note above, when the margins are this thin you have to be perfect. I thought Chris Olave had a good game all-around, but his drop on Haener’s first drive cost a first down and at least a few shots at the end zone deep in Chargers territory. Instead the Saints settled for a field goal, and they were held out of the end zone on a day where they really only needed a touchdown or two to have a realistic shot. If you want to be a star WR in this league, those catches have to happen.
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THREE UP
Pete Werner's impact
If you were wondering exactly how much the Saints were missing without Pete Werner the last few weeks, it became clear from the first drive in this game as he sniffed out a screen for a big loss. He did that basically all day, and looked very much like the missing piece of a defense that played well enough for you to win the game.
It wasn’t perfect. Werner had a gift interception fall through his hands late in the game with the Saints desperately needing a break to have a chance for an unlikely rally. He got overaggressive a few times and had balls completed behind him, but all around it was a really nice day for him and a good indicator of why the Saints wanted to extend him prior to the season.
Werner led the Saints with 9 tackles and a pair of TFLs. He was everywhere. It might be too late for this season, we’ll have to wait and see. But the Saints aren’t going to fold up and open a used car dealership on Airline. Even if this season has to go down the tubes and a full rebuild is jumpstarted, you’ll have to build around something. I think Pete Werner is one of those somethings.
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Khalen Saunders
The success in this game was stopping the run, and I thought Khalen Saunders had some juice in that regard. There were multiple plays that he was able to get off a block and blow up the runner or the QB in the backfield. There hasn’t been enough of that this season.
Saunders finished the day with 4 tackles, a sack for a 10-yard loss, a QB hit and a TFL.
There was one play that I’d have loved to see him wrap up on JK Dobbins for a TFL, but instead he tried to chuck him backwards and the sturdy RB kept his feet and ran for a first down. The refs should’ve blown it dead, whatever … that crew had a TERRIBLE day. Regardless, on an ugly day I thought the run defense, and in particular Saunders, was a bright spot.
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Jake Haener
Look, nothing was “good” when it came to the Saints offense, but in the spirit of this column I’ve got to find something to spin positively. Perhaps the first 2.5 quarters of this game lowered my expectations for competent offense, but watching a QB lead multiple drives into scoring territory was like … whoa, it is possible.
It wasn’t perfect, and it feels like it never will be with this group, but Jake made quick decisions. He got the ball out of his hand and delivered it on time and (mostly) on target into the hands of playmakers (and he’s got the ability to lower his arm slot to make those throws happen). I don’t know, much like last week, when Jake was in there I felt like there was some chance of the Saints putting up points, even if the drives bogged down in field goal range.
There were offensive letdowns basically across the board. It felt like every member of the offensive line had at least one costly penalty. It felt like every Saints playmaker had at least one brutal drop. One of the reasons I felt like Jake was a bit ahead in the QB battle throughout the offseason was he just seemed to handle pressure situations a bit more calmly, and while the result was an ugly one, I can’t shake the feeling that if the Saints had been able to sustain some drives in the first half with the Chargers really not doing much of anything, this all might have gone differently.
There’s a chance Derek Carr is back for the Week 9 game in Carolina that might be the final nail in this regime’s coffin if the Saints were to lose it. If QB1 can’t go, it feels like Haener has to be the guy.
A few more
Hard to be mad at Alvin Kamara for this one. He ran hard and hit big multiple times. He finished the game with 122 total yards on 16 touches. I think his broken hand is a factor in some of these drops. ... Chris Olave got some YAC in this game, which is nice to see. He finished with 107 yards on 8 catches, his first 100-yard game of the season. ... Ugo Amadi got his first career sack. Gold star. ... I wouldn't say Matt Hayball had his best punting day with a pair of touchbacks, but you asked him to kick nine times and his leg didn't fall off. Gold star.
