Although the New Orleans Saints (0-1-1) couldn’t pull out a win in front of a packed home stadium, a nice second-half performance by quarterback Spencer Rattler helped the team to a 17-17 tie against Jacksonville (0-1-1) during Sunday’s preseason contest.
Rattler, gearing up for his second professional season, led New Orleans on an 87-yard scoring drive to tie things up with 21 seconds left. Here’s how the entire game played out.
Scoring summary
An inefficient first half led by rookie quarterback Tyler Shough only resulted in one field goal by New Orleans, going into halftime down 17-3. Jacksonville’s scoring came off a touchdown connection between veteran signal-caller Trevor Lawrence and Parker Washington. Bayshul Tuten had a three-yard run into the end zone, while Cam Little knocked a 53-yard field goal in just before heading into the locker room.
New Orleans found some momentum in the third quarter with field goals off the foot of Charlie Smyth on back-to-back drives. Then, in the fourth quarter, a stout Saints defense allowed Rattler a chance at a two-minute drill to tie it.
Rattler led the team 87 yards down the field on 11 plays, starting the drive with a pass to Dante Pettis and ending it with another Pettis catch but this time in the end zone. The Saints then lined up for two, with Rattler rushing off the right end and tying the game at 17-17.
The Jaguars had 21 seconds left on the clock before rookie safety Jonas Sanker intercepted Seth Henigan on the final play or regulation. The NFL does not play overtime during the preseason.
What the coach said
After losing his first preseason game as a head coach last week to the Los Angeles Chargers, Kellen Moore was pleased with what he saw with his team on Sunday and how they rallied from down two scores. He specifically touted Rattler, who is currently competing Shough for the starting job behind center.
“Big moment, big opportunity for him that put the team in a winning situation,” Moore said. “Those are critical moments. We’re setting up ourselves for a really good week of work. Our defense made some critical plays that gave us an opportunity to win. We have to learn to play a bit faster and be able to respond and be on the same page.”
When one of the reporters asked Moore about the quarterback competition, he said it’s still up in the air: “Everyone needs to take advantage of their opportunities.”
Numbers never lie
Shough’s first half saw the rookie out of Louisville complete 9 of 12 passes for 66 yards without turning the ball over. However, the offense wasn’t clicking until Rattler came in. Rattler finished with 199 passing yards on 18 of 24 attempts with one touchdown and one interception.
Mason Tipton led the New Orleans receiving corps with 100 yards on six catches, while Pettis finished with 57 yards and the team’s lone touchdown. Velus Jones, Jr. led the team in rushing with 29 yards on four carries.
For Jacksonville, Lawrence looked clean during his short amount of time on the field. He threw for 76 yards and one touchdown on 8 of 10 passing. Southern Miss alum Nick Mullens got the majority of snaps at quarterback, completing 14 of 17 passes for 112 yards with one interception. Hunter Long led the team with 32 receiving yards, while Tuten had 25 yards on the ground with one score.
Defensively, Ventrell Miller (4 tackles, 1 sack) and Keni-H Lovely (1 interception) led the Jaguars, while Quincy Riley (8 tackles), Jaylan Ford (1 interception), and Sanker (1 interception) led the Saints.
Next up
New Orleans: vs. Denver Broncos on Aug. 23 at noon
Jacksonville: at Miami Dolphins on Aug. 23 at 6 p.m.
