Spencer Rattler shows against Bucs that he is not the Saints' problem | Saints

No one wants to hear about the glimmer of hope after a terrible loss.

When you lose a game like the Saints did on Sunday, it's hard to focus on anything positive.

But if there was a bright side to their demoralizing 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was this: They lost a game but might have found a quarterback.

Spencer Rattler's performance was one of the few encouraging takeaways from an otherwise discouraging afternoon for the Saints.

The rookie's highly anticipated debut had a lot to offer.

His modest final numbers — 22 of 40, 243 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions — don't accurately reflect how well Rattler played in his first NFL start. His impressive running and passing skills were a key reason the Saints were able to erase an early 17-point deficit and at least temporarily make it a game in the second and third quarters.

“Overall, I think he did some good things,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said. “There were some encouraging things. … I thought he did some things really well early in the game, especially in the first half.”

All in all, it was an encouraging first impression.

Rattler stunned the Bucs with his accurate right arm and legs. He bought himself time to find receivers downfield by repeatedly getting out of the pocket with bootlegs and rollouts. He completed passes to six receivers and did so without the services of Chris Olave, who left the game after suffering a concussion on the Saints' first series. And when no one was open, he clumsily tucked the ball and ran for first downs.

Most importantly, he kept the ball out of danger. He finished the first half with 11 completions on 17 attempts for 140 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. His passer efficiency rating for the first 30 minutes was a nice 109.9.

“The first half was really good for all of us,” Rattler said. “We came out and were sloppy as a group the whole second half. Couldn't really get anything going, shot ourselves in the foot a few times. I have to start with myself and play better.”

As expected, Rattler was far from perfect. He would like to have both throws returned that ended in interceptions: one as an underthrow to an open Rashid Shaheed on a go route and a second on an out route to Shaheed along the left sideline. And as the Bucs defense adjusted to the bootlegs and rollouts in the second half, he struggled to make plays from the pocket.

Rattler's task was difficult enough on its own, but he didn't get much help from his teammates. His receivers dropped a handful of passes and the defense lost yards and points.

“I don’t think we did enough around him to help him,” Allen said.

Afterwards, Rattler behaved with the same aplomb. In his post-match press conference, he focused on the areas of his game that needed improvement and refused to put any of his teammates in their place. In fact, he did the exact opposite, praising his offensive line for the way they fought and defended throughout the game.

“I don't want to talk about myself, you know what I mean?” he said. “…I need to get better. There’s definitely a lot of things to clean up when you first start up.”

Well said – especially for a 24-year-old making his first NFL start. Some of Rattler's older, more experienced (and better compensated) teammates could learn from him about taking responsibility after a tough loss. Too few of them stayed in the postgame locker room to listen to the music.

But Rattler did it, and that's what strong leaders do.

“I have to get better; We have to do better,” he said. “We need to go back to the drawing board and get to work.”

History teaches us to curb our enthusiasm for these things.

From Archie Manning to Jake Delhomme to Aaron Brooks to Jameis Winston, we've seen the Saints' quarterbacks shine in their debuts. In fact, each won their first start with the Saints, only to experience a quick and sobering return to earth shortly thereafter.

Rattler will experience more peaks and valleys on the upcoming trip. Allen said Rattler will remain the starter going forward, and with Carr potentially sitting out two to three more games, this is the rookie's team for now.

His start was by no means perfect. There are many things he can improve and learn from. But Rattler gave hope to a club and fan base that otherwise doesn't have much reason to be hopeful.

To paraphrase Jay-Z: The Saints have 99 problems right now, but their quarterback isn't one.