The New Orleans Saints benched rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler for the second straight week, but his Week 8 demotion was different. New Orleans was still in a winnable game against the Los Angeles Chargers when head coach Dennis Allen turned to QB Jake Haener in the third quarter.
Saints Bench Rookie QB Spencer Rattler in Week 8
Rattler had completed 12 of 24 attempts for 156 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions while taking three sacks before being benched with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter.
When Allen pulled Rattler, the Saints were down 16-5. From a win probability standpoint, New Orleans had little chance of coming back.
However, from an optics standpoint, Rattler’s Week 8 benching was worse. When Haener took over against the Denver Broncos last week, the Saints were trailing 33-10 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Jake Haener has replaced Spencer Rattler as QB for the Saints against the Chargers pic.twitter.com/vvkPlcZpDZ
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX)
Week 8 was still a close contest, so the Saints benching Rattler so early could indicate their future plans. If starting quarterback Derek Carr can’t return against the Carolina Panthers in Week 9, Allen may be more inclined to roll with Haener.
Haener completed three of four attempts against the Broncos last week, connecting with wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. on what was New Orleans’ only touchdown of the game.
Carr hasn’t played since injuring his oblique in a Week 5 Monday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Without Carr under center, the Saints ranked 31st in EPA per play (-0.029) from Weeks 6 to 7.
Speaking to reporters at the end of last week, Allen suggested that Carr is “very likely” to return for Week 9.
“This is not something that’s a pain tolerance question,” Allen said on Friday. “This is a functionality question, in terms of just being able to rotate his upper body to make throws and be functional at being able to do that.
“Obviously, there’s a pain level that goes along with that, but it’s his ability to rotate his torso to be able to throw the football. That’s an important part of what quarterbacks have to be able to do.”
Saints Discuss Rattler’s Benching in Week 8
Following a lopsided 26-8 loss to the Chargers, Allen didn’t mince words when asked about the current state of the Saints. Allen was asked about his message to the team following an uninspiring performance in Week 8.
“The message is it’s the people in the room in there that are going to have to change it,” Allen said during his postgame press conference. “Nobody is coming from outside the building. It’s going to have to be the guys that are in that locker room, the coaches, to fix it.”
Rattler was questioned about his demotion and understands that he needs to do a better job when given the opportunity to be the Saints’ starting quarterback. New Orleans was winless in the first three starts of Rattler’s NFL career.
“Obviously, we didn’t get any wins, so that’s very unfortunate,” Rattler said, according to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.
“We want to win. Our goal is to come in here and win, get some momentum going (before) going to another divisional game next week. Got to get back to work and figure it out.”
Although it isn’t clear if Rattler will get a chance to figure it out moving forward, as Carr could return in Week 9 and Haener outplayed him on Sunday. Allen made the decision to insert Haener at quarterback for the second consecutive week.
While the Saints were unable to score a touchdown with Haener at quarterback, the offense was able to move down the field. Haener completed 9-of-17 passes for 122 yards against the Chargers in Week 8.
Following the disappointing loss, Haener was asked about his performance in relief of Rattler in Los Angeles.
“I felt like I was very composed,” Haener said. “I felt like I went in there and controlled the game. I felt like in those situations, you can’t just be a manager. You’ve got to go try and make some throws to create a spark, some energy.”