Spencer Rattler's rough second half dampens an otherwise promising first start for the Saints

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — There were moments when rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler had a rollicking Superdome crowd believing that he could guide the New Orleans Saints to their largest comeback victory since 2009.

Then he, and the Saints, got shaken, rattled and rolled.

Rattler, a fifth-round draft pick making his NFL debut in place of the injured Derek Carr (oblique), threw two interceptions and was sacked five times in the second half on Sunday as a three-point lead turned into a 51-27 blowout defeat to NFC South rival Tampa Bay.

New Orleans, which scored 20 points in a 5:06 span of the second quarter to erase a 17-0 deficit, was shut out after halftime.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a few times, made a few mistakes, starting with myself,” Rattler said. “Got to play better in the second half, but we fought, we battled and we’ll learn and get better from it.”

Rattler, inactive behind Carr and second-year quarterback Jake Haener for the first five games, hurt the Bucs early on with a series of planned roll outs. He finished 22 of 40 for 243 yards, but was only 11 of 23 for 103 yards after halftime.

All of the Bucs’ five sacks came in the second half.

“We were setting the edge more with our outside guys instead of trying to drop them,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles sad. “We knew if we could cut him off in the pocket and just keep him as a pocket passer, we’d have a chance to get a little pressure on him.”

Rattler was sacked twice in a row after the Saints took over near midfield following a Tampa Bay punt in the third quarter, leading to Chris Godwin’s catch and run for a 55-yard score as the Bucs went ahead for good, 31-27.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, cornerback Zyon McCollum intercepted Rattler’s underthrown deep pass, intended for receiver Rashid Shaheed, at the Tampa Bay 42, leading to an insurance touchdown.

When safety Tykee Smith picked off another underthrown pass, it ended a stretch of five series during which the Saints had only one first down and two turnovers.

“They definitely had a good plan that second half but it came down to execution,” Rattler said. “It was about what we could have done better and what I could have done better.”

Rattler received one of the loudest roars, along with star running back Alvin Kamara, during pregame introductions. The former Oklahoma and South Carolina QB drew more cheers when he completed his first pass for 27 yards.

His next throw was on target, too, but Smith stripped Chris Olave of the ball and Antoine Winfield Jr. returned the fumble 58 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Tampa Bay lead. Olave also sustained a concussion on the play from a helmet-to-helmet hit from McCollum, leaving the Saints without their top wide receiver.

“It’s unfortunate to see your top guy go down early in the game," Rattler said of Olave. "We wanted to really get him involved this game.”

Rattler responded well to the early adversity. He went 4 of 4 for 40 yards on a field-goal drive that cut the deficit to 17-3. He threw a strike to Bub Means in the corner of the end zone for his first career scoring toss and Means’ first career touchdown. That gave the Saints their first lead at 20-17. He hit tight end Foster Moreau for 41 yards to set up Alvin Kamara’s 4-yard touchdown run 2:47 before halftime to give the Saints their last lead of the game.

While Rattler struggled, New Orleans gave up 594 yards—11 shy of the franchise record set against Minnesota in 2004 — and were outrushed 277-81.

"I don’t think we did enough around him to help him,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said of Rattler before adding he intended to start the rookie QB again Thursday against Denver. “It was hard for us to be able to run. They won the line of scrimmage. He did some things really well early in the game, but as the second half kind of went on, they started to pressure him a little bit more.”

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Guerry Smith, The Associated Press