Saints QB Spencer Rattler throws TD, 2 INTs in uneven debut

NEW ORLEANS – It was a tale of two halves for New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler in his NFL debut.

Rattler made his first start Sunday in a 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, replacing Derek Carr, who suffered an oblique injury Monday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Rattler had a promising first half, scoring his first touchdown in the first quarter on a 10-yard pass to fellow rookie Bub Means, which helped give the Saints a 27-24 halftime lead.

“I was definitely happy with Bub’s play,” Rattler said of Means, who caught his first NFL passes against Tampa Bay. “It's been pretty quiet all year so far, the first four or five games, and we've been struggling in practice and talking about when is the time to make those plays and I was happy for him.” .”

There wasn't much positive for the Saints in the second half. The Buccaneers (4-2) were able to confuse Rattler by shutting him down twice in the fourth quarter and sacking him a total of five times (four of them in the second half) while he went 22 of 40 for 243 yards passing He completed just 11 of 23 passes for 103 yards in the second half.

This, coupled with a historically poor performance by the Saints' defense, resulted in a shutout in the final two quarters.

“I thought the first half was really good for all of us. I think we got the job done, we were sloppy as a group the whole second half. Couldn’t really get anything going,” Rattler said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a few times, made a few mistakes, starting with myself. I had to play better in the second half, but we fought, we battled, and we'll learn from it and get better.”

Rattler said the Buccaneers played more man-to-man coverage in the second half and had a good game plan. He said he was most disappointed with his two interceptions and took the blame for most of the sacks behind an injury-depleted offensive line.

“I caused a few of those sacks, you know what I mean? O-line, I thought, killed them all day and played really well. I thought we did some good things to help them forward, but we just kept going.” “They worked the pocket, got the ball out and gave the defense credit. They played well in the second half,” Rattler said.

Rattler said the loss ultimately came down to execution as he felt the offense put the defense in a “difficult spot.” The Saints allowed 593 net yards of offense, the most since 2004, and the team allowed 51 points, the most since a 52-27 loss to the New York Giants in 2012.

Saints coach Dennis Allen said he didn't think the team did enough to help Rattler, citing some protection issues, an inability to run the ball and poor tackling. The defense had three interceptions in the first half, but Allen called the tackling “atrocious.”

“I thought it was the biggest thing in the game. We didn't make any tackles in the game. And make no mistake, when it comes to defense, that’s on me,” Allen said.

Those numbers put the Saints in rare company with the 2012 defense that gave up an NFL-record 7,042 yards. Then-Saints coach Sean Payton, who was suspended that season because of Bountygate, fired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo after just one season.

When asked if the tackle can be fixed before the Saints face Payton and the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football, Allen said, “That's something we better fix.” He also said the Saints plan to Keeping Rattler as the starting quarterback.

“I won’t hang my head. “I’m proud of what I did, what we fought for as a group,” Rattler said. “We just have to clean up, that’s all. … You can't hang your head after such a tough defeat. We all have to get better. It starts with myself.”

The Saints, who have lost four straight games, also played without Chris Olave (concussion) and Tyrann Mathieu (forearm).

“It was hard. But he'll tell you himself, the next man up mentality. It’s unfortunate to see your top player go down very early in the game,” Rattler said of Olave. “I hope there is a quick recovery. I hope that he is completely healthy again. It’s tough because we really wanted to include him in this game.”