The New Orleans defense carried the team’s stat line with three sacks and an interception, but it wasn’t enough as the Saints dropped their third preseason game to the Denver Broncos and former head coach Sean Payton on Saturday.
New Orleans (0-2-1) pulled within three points halfway through the fourth quarter before the momentum sizzled and Denver (3-0) left Caesar’s Superdome with a 28-19 win.
Scoring summary
While the Saints were aggressive on the first two possessions with second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler under center, both drives were hampered by penalties and ended with Black Grupe knocking in back-to-back field goals form 50 yards and deeper.
Denver’s Bo Nix played through the opening series of the second quarter, using his final drive to march the team 77 yards down the field and end it with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton. After two chip-shot field goals off the foot of Wil Lutz, the halftime score was 16-9 in favor of the Broncos.
In the fourth quarter, New Orleans cut the lead to three after a 10-point swing on a touchdown run by rookie quarterback Tyler Shough and a 52-yard field goal by Charlie Smyth with 7:09 remaining. The Broncos answered with a final dagger – backup quarterback Sam Ehlinger connected with Kyrese Rowan on a five-yard touchdown.
Numbers never lie
Shough led the way on offense with 102 yards on 12 of 20 passing. He also was the rushing leader for New Orleans, carrying twice for 20 yards and one touchdown. Rattler was 5 of 8 passing for 43 yards. Neither turned the ball over.
Kevin Austin, Jr. led the receiving corps with 34 yards on three catches. Defensively, Quincy Riley had an interception off Ehlinger, while Jasheen Davis, Khristian Boyd, and Jonah Williams each tabbed a sack.
For Denver, Ehlinger and Nix each tossed for over 100 yards and one touchdown. Audric Estime rushed the ball eight times for 45 yards and one touchdown. Sutton had four catches for 83 yards and a score.
What the coach said
Although the result was not what first-year New Orleans head coach Kellen Moore wanted, he used the postgame press conference to point out a few positives he saw form the team, including what he said was a high level of energy and effort.
As for the 53-man roster, which has to be solidified by Tuesday, Moore said he and the rest of the coaching staff will be meeting between now and then to make any final decisions.
“These are tough decisions. We will review the game film and should be finished with the final roster by Tuesday. We will have some healthy conversations, and at some point, we will make the decisions,” he said. “This is the most challenging time in the NFL.”
Moore noted that New Orleans will plan to acquire more talent through the trade market.
Regarding the quarterback competition between Rattler and Shough, for the second week in a row, Moore said there’s no clear answer yet.
“There was a lot of good from the quarterbacks today, but there were a few missed opportunities.”
Next up
New Orleans: With no more preseason games left, the Saints will gear up to host the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 7 at noon CT.
Denver: The Broncos will host the Tennessee Titans in their season opener set for Sept. 7 at 3:05 p.m. CT.
