Rookie Spencer Rattler shines in relief for Saints after Jake Haener struggles early

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — On Spencer Rattler's first play after replacing Jake Haener for the New Orleans Saints’ first series of the third quarter, the rookie threw the ball away just before two unblocked Washington pass rushers hit him.

Little else about Rattler's performance bore much resemblance to the difficulty Haener had on Sunday.

Rattler nearly led New Orleans all the way back from a 17-0 deficit before a game-deciding 2-point conversion fell incomplete in a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders.

His 1-yard touchdown pass to Foster Moreau with no time left gave the Saints a chance to win. Interim coach Darren Rizzi went for 2 instead of a tying extra point, but well-covered tight end Juwan Johnson could not hold on to Rattler's hard pass in the corner of the end zone.

“I just went out there and played my style,” said Rattler, who had not played since going 0-3 in October in place of the injured Derek Carr. “I wanted to cut it loose and play free.”

With Haener, who went 4 of 10 for 49 yards, the Saints produced no points, two first downs and 38 yards while the offense stayed on the field for only 14 plays in the first half.

They scored on all four of Rattler’s possessions, gaining 207 yards and picking up 15 first downs. His 39-yard strike to a double-covered Marquez Valdes-Scantling set up a 21-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Cedric Wilson to running back Alvin Kamara on a trick play. Blake Grupe kicked 41- and 51-yard field goal on the next two drives, and Rattler completed five passes while guiding the Saints 56 yards in the last 1:55 to produce the game's climactic finish.

“We felt like we needed to make a change there at halftime,” Rizzi said.

“Spencer did a great job, came in, provided some spark, but not only that, we only gave up six points in the second half, which gave us a chance,” Rizzi said. “We needed one more play and unfortunately we dug too big of a hole there in the first half.”

Haener, a fourth-round draft pick out of Fresno State in 2023, made his first career start after Carr was ruled out Saturday, dealing with an injury to his non-throwing hand and the effects of a concussion he sustained late in the fourth quarter last Sunday against the New York Giants.

Haener was sacked on his first two possessions and threw an interception on his third — right to cornerback Mike Sainristil at the Saints 47 while scrambling away from pressure. That set up Jayden Daniels’ second scoring pass to Terry McLaurin.

Haener did not get another chance in the second half.

“I obviously want to be able to go and not have that leash be that tight,” he said. “I felt like I wanted to go out there and have an opportunity to play a full game, but sometimes it’s not up to me."

Rizzi did not put all the blame for his team's first-half struggles on Haener. He pointed to a third-down completion to Wilson that was erased by a holding penalty and a throw that an open Valdes-Scantling missed one play before the interception.

“I’m certainly not down on Jake,” Rizzi said. “Sometimes when you’re in one of these games, you’re just stale, you’re looking for a spark and I just felt a change at that position was the way to go.”

Rattler finished 10 of 21 for 135 yards and a TD without a turnover or a sack. His first two completions picked up two more yards — 51 — than Haener’s 10 attempts.

“He hit some plays. We saw that from him coming out in his college days” at South Carolina, Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. “You never know. Sometimes when you come in, you’ve got nothing to lose and you let it rip.”

When Washington missed a 54-yard field goal after the two-minute warning, Rattler got his chance to complete the comeback.

After throwing to Kevin Austin Jr. to convert a third-and-1, he hit Moreau for 7 yards to the Commanders 1 on fourth-and-3. Officials mistakenly stopped the clock, giving Rattler a chance to spike the ball before he connected with Moreau again for the final touchdown.

“We believed that we could come out and go win the game and we were an inch away,” Rattler said. “So, got to be proud of that.”

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Guerry Smith, The Associated Press