The New Orleans Saints need a bounceback performance in a big way, and that's exactly what they got in a 27-24 win over the Cowboys in their preseason finale.
It was the first preseason win of the Kellen Moore era and featured a host of strong performance, most notably in the run game to the tune of 169 yards on 32 carries (5.2 yards per carry). So who stepped up and who fell flat? Let's break it down in our final preseason stock report column before the games start to count.
NOTE: The Saints and the rest of the NFL must trim down their rosters to 53 by 3 p.m. on Sunday.
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1. THE RUN GAME
Pick a back, it’s hard to find one who didn’t contribute in a positive way. Kendre Miller drew the start again and continued to reinforce that when he’s on the field, he’s an elite back who can be the between-the-tackles runner this team needs. He finished the game with 42 yards on 9 carries.
But it wasn’t just Kendre. Audric Estime returned from injury and went for for 46 yards on 4 carries, including a 33-yard run after he looked to be bottled up but was able to bounce it outside. I think at times he can catch defenders by surprise because he has a lot of skill in the frame of a power back. He departed with an injury after that play, hopefully it's not too serious.
CJ Donaldson had another nice day, including an improv moment where he was able to bail Zach Wilson out of a sack and pick his way for a first down. Though I will note that his job was to block the rusher on that play. He's shown a knack for creating off-schedule in his limited run.
Finally there was Zamir White, who joined the Saints on Tuesday, got in two practices and still found a way to produce. His 11-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half pinned the Saints to a 24-9 lead.
I think at times he relies too much on his athleticism and needs to trust the design more, particularly in short yardage, but it’s easy to see why the Saints wanted to bring him in. He’s got juice.
A lot of credit also has to go to the interior offensive line made up of Jeremiah Right, Will Sherman and Easton Kilty. They were digging out rushers and creating lanes all game. That was the case last week, too, but a lot of that good was undone by penalties.
It’s tough to know exactly what translates when the starters get in there on both sides, but for now it’s all optimism.
2. RATTLER QB2
I thought both QBs had solid performances in this game, but I had Rattler ahead going in and all he did was complete 80 percent of his passes, navigate pressure well and lead three scoring drives.
The Saints came out with more intent in this game and perhaps there was a bit more gameplanning that a traditional preseason game. The first play of the day was a fly sweep to Barion Brown that had been installed during the week. The first time it went for 12 yards up the left sideline. There was a well executed screen to Kendre Miller in there followed by a 15-yard completion to Bryce Lance, but the drive bogged down after a procedural penalty and they settled for a 38-yard Daniel Carlson field goal.
The next drive saw more effective running from Miller and another 13-yard completion to Lance before it was finished off by another Brown sweep to the opposite side. Rattler's best highlight of the day was a 9-yard touchdown run that finished off a drive that started behind the sticks following an 8-yard sack. He found an 11-yard completion to Treyton Welch, followed by a 33-yard Estime run to set up the red zone score.
After a disappointing performance in the opener, Rattler responded with elite efficiency in his next two halves of football, even if the Rams game is one the team would rather forget. The 100-yard pick-6 can’t be excused, but it was a red zone mistake to learn from in a game about getting reps and getting ready. You assess the play, but it’s not the whole story. The total line from those two games: 22-33 (66.7%), 220 yards, INT, 1 sack taken, 7 carries, 30 yards, TD.
He’s the QB2. The only real question is whether you carve out a roster spot for a third QB or try to get Wilson to the practice squad. He also played well, finishing 9-12 for 93 yards. He led a touchdown drive and another for the go-ahead field goal late in the fourth quarter. Dare I say the Saints find themselves in a very good QB situation? Still, I hope we don't have to see Rattler or Wilson start any more games.
3. ENJOY THE JOB, MR. CARLSON
The Saints would’ve never brought in a guy like Daniel Carlson if the job wasn’t there to be won. It was tough to say exactly what the results would have to be, but there’s no question that the veteran kicker got there.
He went 7-for-8 during his lone practice session on Wednesday. That included a make from 55. The lone miss was from about 48.
Then there was the game. The Saints did the whole thing. They gave all three kickers opportunities. Carlson converted from 38, followed by a PAT. No issues there.
Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown both made their PAT attempts. Everyone got a turn kicking off.
But when it came down to a potential game-winning kick, Carlson got the call. That didn’t mean it was straightfoward. When that kick arrived it was technically Tanner Brown’s turn in the rotation. Carlson was warming up the whole drive in anticipation of the kick, but it didn’t look like anyone informed Brown, who initially walked out for the kick before being called back.
That aside, it was always going to be Carlson’s kick in that situation. It just had to be. Again, you brought him in to win a job. It’s tough to say what would’ve happened if he missed. But it doesn’t matter. He didn’t. He does have a strange looking kick at times, almost like a punch shot in golf from longer distances. It didn’t get very high off the ground, but it had plenty of room to spare from 53 and was dead straight. Like he told me after the game, 3 points is 3 points … and with that kick he’s now made 10-of-11 (91%), including two from 50-plus and a go-ahead kick in the final minutes of a game.
It’s a bummer for a guy like Brown, who worked hard all camp and honestly had solid numbers. He finishes 48-of-55 (87.3%) and is the only kicker to make all of his attempts over the past week. If it wasn’t Carlson, it’d be him. Unfortunately his lack of experience and inconsistency from inside 40 yards (four misses from that range in camp) erodes confidence quickly. I can’t help but wonder whether things go differently if Brown makes the 38-yarder against the Rams.
But that’s not the universe we live in. The Saints look prepared to throw their lot in with Daniel Carlson in 2026. Let’s see how it goes.
HONORABLE MENTION
Jeremiah Wright still has a good bit of development ahead of him, but even throughout the course of this preseason you could see that happening quickly. He's said he needs to play with controlled aggression, and when he can do that there's a TON of upside. Even in this game you saw him end up in a very similar situation as to when he drew a 15-yard personal foul last week. This time instead of foolishly trying to clean up the pile he peeled off and raised his arms. Growth. He was dominant in the run game on Friday. I still have questions as to how he holds up against NFC caliber DTs, but his performance will put some pressure behind Cesar Ruiz to up his game. … Only four penalties in this one. The Saints needed to course correct and they did. I said last week that's what I wanted to see, and if they couldn't, that'd be a negative on Kellen Moore and the coaching. They passed that test. … Terrell Burgess doesn't do anything that blows you away, but he tends to come up with the plays when you need them. He made a really nice pass breakup on a third down play to force a field goal attempt early in this game. I don't know if he cracks the roster out of camp, but I fully expect him to impact this team at some point in 2026. … Jay’Viar Suggs made his presence felt in a few ways, most notably with back-to-back deflected passes, one of which saved a potential 70-yard touchdown. Those are the type of plays that make an impression on coaching staffs. … Ronnie Bell has had a really nice connection with Zach Wilson throughout camp, but he was oddly silent during the preseason. Not so in this one. He finished with a team-leading 6 catches and 65 yards, and made multiple clutch grabs on the drive for the go-ahead field goal. … Tyree Wilson and Anfernee Jennings both got extended run in this one. There was pressure on Joe Milton throughout the first half, but the Cowboys QB did a good job escaping. Wilson did make a nice play dropping into coverage for a pass-breakup. … Myles Cole had five tackles and consistently bottled up run actions on the interior. Really effective day for him. ... Kellen Moore called plays in this game after handing off those duties to Doug Nussmeier for the first two weeks of the preseason. I don't think it's a coincidence that the offense looked a lot more consistent.
STOCK DOWN
1. HOLDING LEADS
I genuinely struggled to find a lot to criticize in this game. But for the second time in three preseason games we saw the Saints blow double-digit leads. Against the Jaguars it was a 20-6 halftime lead that turned into a 24-20 loss. This time it was a 24-9 lead midway through the third quarter that turned into a 24-24 tie before a go-ahead drive and game-winning stop by the defense.
Obviously the players in the second half of a preseason game aren't the ones who will be responsible for closing out a regular season game, but I do think winning games is a habit. When you don't know how to close out a game, you're always waiting for a collapse. The Saints haven't won a lot of games the last few years. They need to retrain that muscle. Closing out a game after blowing the lead is nice -- and important, too -- but I'd also love to see this team learn when and how to put their foot on the neck of the opponent and not let them off the mat.
2. CB DEPTH
I feel worse about the cornerback depth at the end of camp than I did going into it, and that's a bummer. It's also strange, because I feel a lot better about Martin Emerson Jr. as the CB3 than I did after the first week of camp. He played a lot in this game and didn't get targeted the way he did last week.
I can't say the same for Isaac Yiadom. The veteran started out as the CB3 but was leapfrogged by Emerson. He's always played with physicality, but there were too many lost reps for my liking, even for a depth player. We saw that again in this matchup, and those reps would have been a lot more damaging if not for some timely PBUs along the defensive line. Anthony Smith was about 5 yards clear on what could've been a 70-yard TD from if Joe Milton's pass wasn't deflected by Jay'Viar Suggs.
Quincy Riley is down, so that means we're one injury away from a starting CB tandem of Emerson and Yiadom. Next up after that would ... rookie TJ Hall? In the second half of this game we saw the Cowboys picking on new arrival David Long Jr. Depending on when Riley is expected back from his groin injury, I wouldn't be surprised if we see the Saints kicking the tires on some additions at that position.
3. SHOT PLAYS
I'll start by saying this isn't all on the QBs, but I've yet to see the Saints execute a true shot play this preseason outside of the joint practice with the Jaguars. That's not to say there haven't been attempts. To be clear, when I say shot play it's a designed deep ball. The QB is going hit a 7-step drop from under center (5 from shotgun), oftentimes with a hard play-action. You'll keep an extra or blocker in to pick up pressure and look for a speedy WR deep downfield.
It's not something you look for all the time, but a general rule is to try to get to at least one per quarter. These are lower percentage plays, so situationally you'll tend to look for them on early downs and when you're near midfield. They can be particularly effective after quick-change plays where the defense is thrown on the field unexpectedly.
The perfect scenario came up with about 5 minutes to go in the first half. Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey did a very un-Brandon Aubrey-type thing and missed a 57-yard field goal. That meant the Saints started their drive at their own 47-yard line.
- Early down: Check.
- Near midfield: Check.
- Quick change: Check.
Treyton Welch stayed in to block on the right side and Spencer Rattler executed a playaction fake to Kendre Miller as Kevin Austin Jr. and Bryce Lance ran a combination route downfield. Barion Brown was also available in the flat after going in motion as a checkdown. We'll never know whether the play would've worked because Tyrus Wheat beat Asim Richards off the left side for an 8-yard sack before the QB could even consider making a throw.
It's difficult to have elite production on offense if you aren't generating explosive plays consistently. It's difficult to generate explosive plays consistently if you aren't stressing the safeties downfield. It's nearly impossible to stress the safeties downfield if it's all catch and run.
Hopefully things open up a bit more when the first-team offense takes the field. But that part of the game has been notably absent in camp, despite the type of weapons that should be effective on those plays.
