The New Orleans Saints lost the last preseason game of both teams 30-27 against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.
A look at three things that stood out in this otherwise forgettable game:
Good and bad
This game was a classic tale of two halves. The Titans controlled the first half and took a 10-0 lead when their starters were on the field.
Head coach Dennis Allen’s decision to rest most of his starting players left fans in attendance with a long first quarter in which they had to watch the Saints’ reserve players go up against most of the Titans’ first-team players.
The Titans’ first team marched down the field with ease and scored a touchdown on their first drive. They marched 82 yards in nine plays and didn’t need a single third down to move the chains. On their second series, they marched to a field goal to make it 10-0, and from there, Titans head coach Brian Callahan had seen enough and emptied his bench.
It felt like the Saints were involved in a slingshot shootout in the early going.
Airing out
The competition between backup quarterbacks Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler took center stage as Derek Carr took a day off and the Saints opened the playbook to take a close look at both guys.
The highlight of the day for Rattler was a perfectly placed and well-timed 21-yard touchdown pass to Equanimeous St. Brown in the second quarter. It was perhaps his best pass of the preseason.
Haener completed 8 of 17 passes for 87 yards. He also lost the ball and was lucky that teammate Josiah Ezirim recovered the ball in the backfield, avoiding a big loss.
Rattler’s raw numbers – 7 of 13 for 105 yards and a TD – were underwhelming, but he helped the Saints to three TDs and a field goal in five possessions.
Neither quarterback was really helped by their receivers. By my count, the Saints receivers had at least six drops. Haener’s touchdown pass was called back because of a holding call against Ezirim.
This competition has been neck and neck throughout camp and will be a tough call for Allen and his team. They will base their decision on the entire preseason, but the recency bias will clearly favor Rattler.
Regardless of the outcome, the Saints have two compelling young quarterbacks on the roster.
Mixed results
Trevor Penning played three series and had mixed results, which has been the case for the third-year tackler for most of his career. He had some nice blocks to free up ball carriers and gain some nice yardage in the run game, but continued to struggle in pass defense. He wasn’t called for a flag, but refs aren’t likely to look the other way on plays like that during the regular season. It’s also notable that the Titans’ best pass rusher, Harold Landry, didn’t play in the game.
The Saints have a difficult decision to make regarding Penning. He is clearly their most talented option at right tackle and the team would obviously like to have him for the job, but at some point they can no longer afford to wait for him to develop.
I’m sure they will actively look to add competition and/or increase their depth at the position, but offensive tackles are hard to find, especially at this stage of the season.
