INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The New Orleans Saints delivered an uninspiring performance in their second preseason game, suffering their first shutout, 34-0, in approximately the last decade.
The Story
Against the Los Angeles Rams, the Saints looked about as outclassed as a team can in the preseason with their club’s depth clearly a few tiers below the Rams’ roster. From their first offensive drive, the Saints simply did not appear to have it together and that turned into a game-long trend that consisted of penalties, missed connections and injury immediately presented itself.
Both quarterbacks, Zach Wilson and Spencer Rattler, had forgettable days. Wilson followed up his impressive preseason debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a rough day, going 6 of 12 for just 55 passing yards, an interception and a 28.1 passer rating.
With a chance to gain some ground on Wilson after the veteran passer’s hyped-up performance last weekend, Rattler led two drives into the red zone in the second half. But the first ended in a 100-yard pick-six Rams defender Alex Cook.
The second also ended in a turnover thanks to a fumble inside the five-yard line by running back CJ Donaldson who had one of the Saints’ few explosive plays of the day earlier in the drive.
From a number of 12-men on the field penalties, holding penalties and an embarrassing illegal formation flag on a fourth-and-short following a timeout, the Saints’ operation was abysmal from a number of perspectives.
The team, at one point, had enough penalties to rival its completed passes.
The game was then punctuated perfectly with a missed 39-yard field goal by kicker Tanner Brown, who is participating in a kicking battle that still lacks a clear frontrunner.
This will more than certainly be a preseason game to forget with the Saints now turning their eyes back on the Dallas Cowboys to close out the preseason.
If there’s any big takeaway from this game, it’s that the lack of positives are worthy of concern when it comes to the team’s depth, combined with its growing list of injuries over the offseason.
The Plays
The Injuries
- RB Devin Neal left the game with an apparent hamstring injury.
- TE Moliki Matavao left with a knee injury.
- OL Torricelli Simpkins left with concussion.
- WR Bub Means was briefly evaluated in the injury tent for a hamstring before finishing the game on the sideline.
- DL Brien Taylor was evaluated in the injury tent (stinger) before leaving the game.
- DB Lorenzo Styles Jr. suffered a calf injury.
