The Saints fall to sixth in a row, their longest losing streak since 2005 Saints

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – A quarterback change wasn't enough to prevent the New Orleans Saints from having another season slipping away.

A desperate Saints team tried to find a spark when it subbed rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler in favor of Jake Haener in the third quarter. The move was too little, too late, as the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Saints 26-8, snapping New Orleans' first six-game losing streak since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina season.

The losses of the last four Saints have each been double digits.

With Rattler under center, the New Orleans Saints scored on eight of their first nine possessions against the Los Angeles Chargers. As the game reached the 4:50 mark in the third quarter, coach Dennis Allen had enough of the rookie quarterback and turned the offense over to Haener.

The offense performed slightly better under Haener, who led a field goal drive on its first possession and brought the Saints within scoring distance two possessions later. But a little more wasn't nearly enough.

Haener led four possessions and completed 9 of his 17 passes for 122 yards.

Rattler, on the other hand, completed 50% (12 of 24) of his pass attempts for 156 yards and recorded three sacks. New Orleans failed to create any significant offensive rhythm with him in the game, as several attacks stalled on third-and-long.

And while New Orleans played better defensively against the Chargers than they have in recent weeks, they were once again undone by their inability to prevent explosive plays.

Despite their offensive woes, the Saints were only four points behind midway through the third quarter when Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert fired a jump ball toward the sideline for rookie receiver Ladd McConkey.

McConkey beat Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor to the ball, then weaved through the Saints secondary and scored a 60-yard touchdown that gave Los Angeles a 16-5 lead.

Later in the fourth quarter, Herbert scored another deep strike that went 40 yards to receiver Josh Palmer, who ran past Saints corner Kool-Aid McKinstry to make the play. This led to a Cameron Dicker field goal that increased the Chargers' lead to 19-8.

The final nail in the coffin was a 9-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to McConkey, set up by a beautiful 24-yard throw from Herbert to Jalen Reagor.

That was more than enough against a Saints offense that has scored just one touchdown in the last 10 quarters.

Defensively, New Orleans got off to a start that looked like it was a team desperate to put the last month of football behind them.

While the Chargers went three-and-out on their first two possessions, New Orleans defenders flew to the ball and put pressure on quarterback Justin Herbert – areas where the Saints defense consistently struggled during their losing streak.

On the second of those possessions, with Los Angeles near its own goal line, Chargers punter JK Scott mishandled a snap. He was trying to put the ball in his own end zone when Taysom Hill drilled him and sent the ball flying toward the sideline. Ultimately, the game was thrown out of bounds due to a safety, giving New Orleans an early 2-0 lead.

But a Saints offense that had four starters returning to the lineup after injury couldn't showcase the strong defensive start.

There were some nice plays. Alvin Kamara rushed for a 23-yard run on the Saints' first offensive play and scored on a 37-yard gain on a screen later in the first half. Chris Olave, returning after missing a game due to a concussion, caught passes of 15 and 20 yards.

But there were too many setbacks to outweigh the good.

There was a sack that resulted in a third and an 8, a block in the back that resulted in a third and a 15, and a grab that resulted in a third and a 20. New Orleans capitalized on none of those opportunities while punting on each of its first five possessions.

And as the offense struggled to stay on the field, the defense began to lose control of the game.

A 38-yard scramble by Herbert marked the Chargers' game-winning field goal drive, later in the half Los Angeles led a 15-play, 90-yard touchdown drive in which they didn't have a single negative play and only had two Thirds had to transform depths. Running back JK Dobbins capped that drive with a 1-yard plunge on third-and-goal.