The New Orleans Saints were shut out 34-0 by the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday at SoFi Stadium, dropping their second consecutive preseason game.
New Orleans finished with 293 yards of total offense, committed three turnovers, and was flagged 12 times.
How it happened
With the Saints resting their starters after two joint practices with the Rams this week, veteran Zach Wilson started at quarterback.
Wilson completed 6 of 12 passes for 55 yards and threw an interception to Rams safety AZ Hamilton in the second quarter. New Orleans was either penalized or turned the ball over on every first-half possession.
The Rams took a 20-0 halftime lead behind backup quarterback Stetson Bennett, a former Jones College and Georgia standout. Bennett completed 19 of 31 passes for 181 yards and rushed for two touchdowns while playing the entire first half.
Bennett, who is expected to be second on the depth chart behind Matthew Stafford when the regular season begins, scored the Rams’ first touchdown on a dive to the pylon. He added a second touchdown on a scramble in the second quarter and led Los Angeles on four scoring drives, the other two being field goals.
The Saints used Wilson and Spencer Rattler for a half each as the team continues to evaluate its backup quarterback situation behind Tyler Shough.
Rattler moved the offense more efficiently than Wilson against the Rams’ backups, but New Orleans still struggled to finish drives. Rattler threw an interception in the third quarter that Rams safety Alex Cook returned 100 yards for a touchdown.
The Saints also fumbled near the goal line in the second half and attempted a 39-yard field goal in the final minute to avoid the shutout. Tanner Brown missed the attempt.
Kendre Miller received significant work early on, carrying the ball six times for 22 yards and returning a kickoff 29 yards. C.J. Donaldson had three carries for 15 yards and caught three passes for 46 yards.
What the coach said
Kellen Moore, going into his second season as head coach of the Saints, was frustrated with the performance but praised the team’s work during the week.
“We gave guys a lot of opportunities in practice this week and we didn’t take advantage of those,” Moore said. “With 12 penalties, you’re not going to win most football games.”
Moore did voice optimism in the team’s quarterback room, while acknowledging the team as a whole need to improve.
“I feel really good about our quarterback room,” he said. “We’re going to have to watch film collectively and play better football. We challenged the guys this week and obviously we didn’t coach well enough.”
Mississippi ties
Besides Bennett’s Mississippi ties, the Rams were led on the ground by a Magnolia State native.
Philadelphia’s Jarquez Hunter had 68 yards on 12 carries and scored a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Next up
The Saints will finish the preseason Friday with a visit to the Dallas Cowboys, less than two weeks after a brawl-filled joint practice between the teams resulted in $500,000 fines for each organization.
The Rams will remain at SoFi Stadium and face the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday.
