To cap off the preseason, the New Orleans Saints hosted Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos. The Black and Gold were down for the majority of the game and attempted to make another comeback in the fourth quarter. It wouldn’t be enough as the Saints fell 28-19 on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Denver received the opening kickoff and found themselves going backwards on the drive. Ugo Amadi forced an incompletion against wide receiver Courtland Sutton on first down. Quarterback Bo Nix was called for a delay of game penalty and threw the ball behind Sutton on 3rd & 12.
New Orleans put points on the board on their opening possession as Spencer Rattler was the starting quarterback in Saturday’s game. Rattler found Chris Olave for 12 yards on the first play, putting the football beyond the 40-yard line of the Broncos. Kendre Miller had a pair of good runs before a holding penalty by Juwan Johnson halted the drive, resulting in a 56-yard field goal by Blake Grupe. The Saints took the 3-0 lead with 11:54 to go in the first quarter.
The Broncos responded with a scoring drive of their own. The Saints’ defense forced a 4th & 5, and head coach Sean Payton elected to go for it. Nix connected with Sutton for a 14-yard pickup to move the chains past the 35-yard line of the Saints. On 3rd & 8, Nix escaped a sack and dumped the ball off to Tyler Badie, who ran for 16 yards to move the offense into the redzone. Kicker Wil Lutz would end up lining up to drill a 32-yard field goal to tie the game at three.
The Saints went back-to-back on scoring drives and reclaimed the lead late in the opening quarter. Velus Jones Jr set up the offense in good field position by taking the kickoff to the 38-yard line of New Orleans. Rattler found Olave and Rashid Shaheed multiple times on the drive before Grupe made his second field goal, this time from 49 yards out, giving the Black and Gold the 6-3 lead with 2:39 left in the opening quarter.
Denver started behind the stick with a holding penalty, but reset the downs after linebacker Demario Davis was called for unnecessary roughness. That led to Nix finding Sutton for a 43-yard gain to end the first. Three plays later, Nix went to Sutton again, this time in a jump ball situation up the middle of the field for a 19-yard touchdown. That score gave the Broncos the 10-6 advantage a handful of plays into the second period.
Coach Kellen Moore went for it on fourth down after a successful challenge by Denver reversed the spot of the football. Rattler was stuffed at the line as the Broncos regained possession at the New Orleans 37-yard line.
Backup Sam Ehlinger replaced Nix and took a fourth-down carry 19 yards down the left sideline to set up 1st & GOAL from the nine. A Kristian Boyd sack and a delay of game penalty put the Bronco offense back to the 20-yard line. Lutz would come out for his second field goal to put Denver ahead 13-6 with 6:35 left in the second quarter.
Tyler Shough came in at quarterback and led a field goal drive ahead of the first half coming to an end. The rookie signal-caller completed four passes as Grupe knocked through a 48-yard kick with 1:56 to go.
Ehlinger led a two-minute drill, going 63 yards in 12 plays. Lucas Krull had a 27-yard catch four plays before Lutz made it a 16-9 at the half with a 35-yard kick.
The Saints received the ball to begin the second half and would punt after five plays. Treyton Welch made a 21-yard catch before a 38-yard Kai Kroeger punt.
Denver drained nearly half of the third quarter clock as they drove 60 yards in 14 plays. On 3rd & 10, Ehlinger was pressured by Vernon Broughton and tried to dump the ball off to Badie. The football bounced off the former Missouri running back’s hand, and rookie cornerback Quincy Riley came down with the interception.
Que Robinson strip-sacked Shough three plays into the following drive. Karene Reid recovered the ball and set up the Denver offense at the 19-yard line of the Saints. On 3rd & 10, Ehlinger connected with Pat Bryant for a 14-yard gain, and Audrice Estime capped off the possession with a five-yard rushing touchdown. The Broncos failed on a two-point conversion attempt and were ahead 22-9 with three minutes to go in the third quarter.
Shough responded with a 12-play, 77-yard drive that took five minutes off the clock. The rook completed six out of eight pass attempts for 40 yards as Kevin Austin Jr hauled in three catches. Shough took a read option himself to the left for an 11-yard touchdown to make it a one-possession game early in the fourth.
The New Orleans defense forced a turnover on downs as Jasheen Davis sacked Ehlinger on fourth down, setting up the Saints’ offense at midfield. Jake Haener went in a quarter and had an opportunity to take the lead on a short field. Heaner’s third-down pass was overthrown to Dante Pettis, and Charlie Smyth converted a 52-yard field goal, cutting it to a three-point difference with 7:09 left in the game.
Denver had one more scoring drive before the clock hit all zeros and made it a two-score game before the two-minute warning. Ehlinger found Kyrese Rowan on multiple occasions, including on 4th & GOAL in a scramble drill for a five-yard touchdown. The Broncos elected to go for two again and failed as Ehlinger was sacked on the play.
Haener couldn’t lead another scoring drive, and Denver went into victory formation to close out the game. The Saints lost 28-19 to close out the preseason.
BIG NUMBER: 3
In all three preseason games, the Black and Gold closed out each contest with less than 90 rushing yards. On the road against Los Angeles, New Orleans had 61 yards on the ground. Then, for the two home preseason games, the Saints recorded 87 and 76 rushing yards.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sam Ehlinger
The former Texas Longhorn led multiple touchdown drives for Denver on Sunday. Ehlinger completed 22 out of 31 passes for 198 yards and the game-sealing touchdown to Kyrese Rowan. That led to a 28-19 loss for the Saints, who closed out the preseason with a 0-2-1 record.
UP NEXT: The New Orleans Saints will begin the 2025 regular season at home and face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, September 7th. Kickoff from the Caesars Superdome is scheduled for noon.