Ups and downs from Saints vs Chargers

The New Orleans Saints lost their preseason opener to the Los Angeles Chargers 27-13. The Chargers took an early lead, and the Saints trailed ever since. While the loss for New Orleans is disappointing, the preseason is about evaluating the talent on the roster and seeing who deserves more time/a spot on the 53-man roster.

I’m expecting a bit of pushback for having Tyler Shough as a positive for the Saints in their loss. The second-round pick threw a questionable interception that the Chargers would take for a touchdown, furthering the gap between the two teams. However, Shough showed the ability to respond and, on the next drive, threw a 54-yard bomb to second-year wide receiver Mason Tipton.

Head coach Kellen Moore has emphasized that the young quarterbacks will make mistakes, and it’s all about how they respond. Moore’s choice to continue to let his rookie quarterback gunsling paid off. Tipton ran a double move, and the defensive back bit on it, allowing the second-year wideout to run free in the secondary. The route concept was similar to a play the team had run earlier with receiver Kevin Austin Jr, but ended in an incompletion as Shough’s throw was slightly out of reach for the 6-foot-2 wideout. This time, however, Shough made a great throw and hit Tipton in stride to score the only touchdown for New Orleans on the day.

The rookie signal-caller also showed the ability to work in crunch time. Shough’s first appearance in the game was with 1:38 remaining in the first half as he orchestrated the Saints offense to the opposing 13-yard line, where the team would ultimately have to settle for a field goal. While having to settle for a field goal within 15 yards of the Chargers’ endzone, Shough was able to put points on the board, something current projected starter Spencer Rattler failed to do in his almost two quarters of reps. Shough didn’t outright win the starting job on Sunday, but he sure made it tighter than it was entering the day.

It’s never a guarantee for a seventh-round selection to make the roster, but rookie pass rusher Fadil Diggs will make it hard for the Saints to overlook him. Diggs’ name was constantly being called during the broadcast as the 6-foot-4 edge rusher consistently caused havoc in the backfield for Los Angeles. Diggs ended the day with a sack, 4 tackles, and 2 tackles for loss.

Diggs was electric off the line and secure in his tackles. There were plenty of disappointing performances from the Saints’ defensive line in their preseason loss, but Diggs stood out and could easily be considered the best defensive player of the day for the Saints.

The Saints currently have seven running backs on their roster and will have to cut down significantly when final roster cuts are made. It won’t be an easy decision for New Orleans, with well-established veterans such as Cam Akers and Clyde Edwards-Helaire holding spots, along with promising young talent like Kendre Miller and sixth-round pick Devin Neal. Despite all the names listed, however, the running back with the best performance of the day was veteran receiver-turned-running back Velus Jones Jr.

Jones Jr only ended the day with one rushing attempt for -1 yards, but it was the impact around the field that stood out. The 28-year-old veteran brought in 4 receptions and was able to turn multiple plays where a defender would meet him behind the line of scrimmage into positive gains. But Jones’ biggest impact came as a kick returner. The 6-foot running back returned two kicks for 73 yards, averaging 36.5 yards per return. Special teams have always been the way to a roster spot for fringe players such as Jones, and his performance on Sunday will make decisions for the Saints’ front office a lot harder as the preseason goes on.

It was a rough day for Saints’ 2023 second-round pick Isaiah Foskey. Los Angeles often picked on whichever side of the field Foskey was lined up when running the ball, and the Notre Dame sack leader was a non-factor in the run game. Despite playing plenty of time through the team’s preseason opener, Foskey failed to record a stat and left SoFi Stadium with less than he already had.

Foskey has been named a cut candidate for New Orleans as the former second-round draft selection has failed to live up to the resources spent on him and has had injury problems plague his early career. With other players such as Fadil Diggs standing out, the road to being in the black and gold for 2025 got longer for Foskey.

Despite being named as a candidate for the starting quarterback job, Jake Haener’s path to being QB1 was always going to be longer. Haener was given the least amount of time among all quarterbacks in the competition to prove himself, entering the game with just four minutes remaining, and on his first drive, he threw an interception.

Haener ended the day 5/8 passing for 41 yards and 1 interception for a 35.9 QB rating. While Haener was able to lead the team to a 50-yard field goal and put points on the board, his showing wasn’t enough to keep the third-year quarterback in the conversation for the starting job. Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough were both given more opportunities to show their talents, and it appears that the two have officially passed Haener.