By Ross Jackson
NEW ORLEANS, LA. – Sunday was a win for the Saints. Even if it wasn’t.
New Orleans made a mid-game quarterback change, suffered a key injury to Alvin Kamara and still had a two-point play to win the game over a team ticketed for the playoffs.
Not only did the Saints show another week of resilience and fight, but they may have found out some valuable information about their rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler.
He can ball.
In the one-on-one Rattler did with LouisianaSports.net, he mentioned that the next time he took the field things would look different than his first three starts earlier in the season. That proved to be true.
After a hapless first half in which the Saints offense as a whole totaled just 38 net yards and completed only four passes, Rattler was called into action in the second half. He mirrored the team’s four first half passing completions with four second half scoring drives As and the offense pulled from their slump, the defense tightened up, allowing just six points in the third and fourth quarters.
While a lot of the blame for the ineffective first half will be placed on second-year quarterback Jake Haener, he wasn’t a mistake-prone player by any means. However, he spent much of the first half under pressure and had some challenges because of it. His offensive line struggled mightily, and a big play was wiped off the board by a costly penalty.. It wasn’t a great set up for his first career start.
But Rattler took the field with the same weapons, the same offensive line and the same playcaller and produced far more success. In fact, he lost starting running back Alvin Kamara following his third quarter touchdown reception from wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. (yes, you read that right.) and top wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a little while after he took a brutal hit over the middle of the field. Valdes-Scantling would eventually return.
What cannot be argued is that Rattler simply was the better quarterback in the 20-19 loss. Now the Saints have some further confirmation that their fifth-round rookie has a lot of talent to work with and can produce in some adverse situations. He was put in position to prove that during his three starts from Week 6 through Week 8 but fell short. Perhaps there was too much of a deficit with the injuries on the offensive line at that time. But in Rattler’s return to the field, he looked sharp, confident, composed and help propel New Orleans to being just one completion away from an unexpected victory.
“The guy did not flinch,” Interim Head coach Darren Rizzi said of Rattler after the game. “He was excited at halftime to go in the game. He took on a leadership position. He never felt like one time in there that he didn’t belong. All those things. I’m very, very proud of Spencer and just told him the same thing.”
In a game where New Orleans ran just 14 plays in the first half and were shut out at halftime, the fact that the Saints were going for two to win it is a win in and of itself. But getting to that position took more than just Rattler, as he himself acknowledged after the game.
“I loved Klint (Kubiak)’s aggression,” he said. “In that second half, I thought he called a great game. I thought the guys played really well up front. We protected the ball, moved the chains, (Blake) Grupe made some big kicks. We wanted to finish with seven points down there, but Grupe came in, knocked two down, and gave us a shot, and we went down and scored. Foster [Moreau] had some big time plays, Kendre (Miller) had some big time runs. O-line blocked their butts off, so credit to them.”
The Saints may have to revisit the starting quarterback conversation next week if typical starter Derek Carr can’t go against the Green Bay Packers. The veteran passer is still managing a left hand injury and could still be in concussion protocol as well. If that ends up keeping him out of the game, it’s clear that Rattler should get another chance to start.
The team was wise to get a look at Haener. But it will be tough to make any arguments against Rattler being the go-to option if the team needs to turn to a young starter in future games. Haener should remain the gameday No. 2. He has proven that he, like Rattler on Sunday, can go in and move the ball when called upon with his quick decision-making. But the team’s focus when it comes to a future starter has without a doubt shifted a bit more over to Rattler after his near game-winning performance.
