After taking down the New York Giants on the road last, the New Orleans Saints hosted the 8-5 Washington Commanders, who rookie phenom Jayden Daniels led. The Black and Gold trotted out Jake Haener for his first career start at quarterback while former Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore returned to the dome for the first time since being traded. Spencer Rattler made his way into the field in the second half and it came down to the final play but it wasn’t enough as the Commanders defeated the Saints 20-19, dropping their record to 5-9.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
New Orleans began with the ball and went three-and-out with Jake Haener getting sacked on third down.
Washington started their first possession at their 44-yard line. On 3rd & 9, Jayden Daniels’ pass to Jamison Crowder was completed four yards short of the first down. Carl Granderson was called for unnecessary roughness on the field goal attempt which extended the drive to the 13-yard line. Daniels, later on, threw into a tight window and found Terry McLaurin for the 16-yard touchdown.
A couple of drives later, the Saints got to the quarterback a couple of times. Chase Young sacked Daniels for a four-yard loss, then, on 3rd & 16, Cam Jordan brought down the former LSU Tiger quarterback and forced Washington to punt.
On 3rd & 4, Haener rolled out right and threw into traffic and was intercepted by Mike Sainristil. The pass was intended for Alvin Kamara.
Washington started their possession at their 47-yard line. A holding penalty set them back 10 yards on first down but a couple of 12-yard completions to Dyami Brown and Crowder moved the chains. Daniels picked up the first down with his legs on 3rd & 2, then Zach Ertz made a one-handed grab across the middle on a trail route to set up 1st & GOAL. McLaurin scored from three yards out on the next play to put the Commanders up by 14 with 5:38 remaining in the second quarter.
Ugo Amadi sacked Daniels on third down and forced Washington to punt the football away. Haener found Dante Pettis for a 12-yard pickup to move the chains on 3rd & 5. The second-year quarterback went on to throw three straight incompletions and the Saints’ special teams downed the ball at the two-yard line with under a minute to go.
New Orleans went into the half down 14-0.
Coming out of the half, Washington received the ball and drove down the field for 63 yards in 11 plays. Jordan sacked Daniels on 3rd & GOAL and Greg Joepsh put the Commanders up by three scores with a 23-yard field goal.
New Orleans responded by benching Haener and throwing Spencer Rattler out there at quarterback. Rattler brought an instant spark as he went deep to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for the 39-yard completion. The Saints got tricky, tossing the ball to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr, who hit Kamara for the 21-yard touchdown. The Black and Gold cut it to a 10-point deficit with under six minutes left in the third quarter.
Daniels connected with McLaurin for 25 yards on the first play of the following possession to move the ball into Saints territory. On 3rd & 14, Daniels scrambled around and cut back towards the middle of the field to pick up 24 yards with his legs. Young recorded his second sack on second down and the Crowder came down with a 10-yard catch on 3rd & 19. The end of the third quarter took away a missed field goal by Joseph, who made the 41-yard attempt to open the fourth and put the Commanders up by 13 points.
A couple of penalties extended New Orleans’ next drive; an illegal use of hands by Dorance Armstrong and a roughing the passer call on Dante Fowler Jr. Passes to Valdes-Scantling fell incomplete and Blake Grupe knocked through his 41-yard attempt to make it a 10-point difference with 11 minutes to go.
Young recorded his second sack against his former team on 3rd & 8 and forced Washington to punt the football back to New Orleans. The Saints started at their eight-yard line. Foster Moreau hauled in the 19-yard reception and a roughing the passer penalty pushed the offense up to the 42-yard line. Valdes-Scantling also had a 25-yard catch-and-run before he and Jeremy Chinn went down with injuries on the play. Grupe capped the drive with a 51-yard field goal to make it a one-score game with 6:57 left.
On 4th & 1, Daniels went over the top to pick up the first down and extend the drive. Washington would back up due to a holding penalty and Joseph missed a 54-yard attempt a play after the two-minute warning.
Kendre Miller flipped the field to the Commander’s 44-yard line with a 12-yard rush and Rattler found Kevin Austin Jr for an eight-yard gain on 3rd & 1. Rattler then hit Moreau for the one-yard touchdown as time expired. New Orleans elected to go for it and failed on the two-point try. The Saints fell to 5-9 with the 20-19 loss.
BIG NUMBER: 38 & 11
The New Orleans Saints offense couldn’t do much of anything in Sunday’s game and more specifically the first half. The Black and Gold put up just 38 yards through the first 30 minutes, the worst first-half yardage total since the 2001 season for New Orleans. On the other side, both teams combined for 11 sacks in the game with the Saints recording eight.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jayden Daniels
The former LSU Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with efficient through the air and on the ground, completing 25 out of 31 pass attempts for 226 yards and a couple of touchdown passes to receiver Terry McLaurin. Daniels also rushed for 66 yards on 11 carries as the Commanders took down the Saints 20-19.
UP NEXT: The New Orleans Saints will travel up to Green Bay to take on the Packers. Kickoff inside Lambeau Field is set for 7:15 p.m. on Monday, December 23rd. The game can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles and can be seen on ESPN.