With the New Orleans Saints holding out most of their starters the Tennessee Titans took a 13-10 halftime lead in the third and final preseason game Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.
Jake Haener got the start at quarterback for the Saints and played the first two series with Trevor Penning, Oli Udoh, Shane Lemieux, Landon Young and Taliese Fuaga as his starting offensive line. Both of Haener's possessions end in punts.
Rookie Spencer Rattler entered for the third drive and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Equanimeous St. Brown with 9:49 to play in the second quarter. Rattler's second drive ended with a 54-yard field goal by Blake Grupe .
Haener was three of seven for 23 yards while Rattler was five of nine for 53 yards. Jordan Mims was the top rusher with 33 yards on five carries.
The Titans played most of their starters including quarterback Will Levis and quickly scored 10 points on the Saints' backup defense. These were the defensive starters for the Saints: defensive end Payton Turner, defensive tackle Kendal Vickers, defensive tackle Khristian Boyd, defensive end Isaiah Foskey, linebacker Anfernee Orji, linebacker Mike Rose, linebacker Khaleke Hudson, cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles, cornerback Rejzohn Wright, safety Will Harris and safety Jordan Howden.
Levis went seven of eight for 118 yards. Mason Rudolph came in to relieve Levis in the second quarter.
The half ended on a crazy play as receiver Samson Nacua fielded a 58-yard field-goal attempt and returned it 106 yards before getting knocked out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
A number of the Saints' top healthy players were give the game off including: cornerback Paulson Adebo, defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, quarterback Derek Carr, linebacker Demario Davis, linebacker Willie Gay, defensive end Carl Granderson, Taysom Hill, defensive end Cameron Jordan, running back Alvin Kamara, safety Tyrann Mathieu, center Erik McCoy, tight end Foster Moreau, receiver Chris Olave, guard Lucas Patrick, guard Cesar Ruiz, defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd, cornerback Alontae Taylor, linebacker Pete Werner, receiver Cedrick Wilson, and defensive end Chase Young.
These players missed the game because of injury: cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hip), cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (knee), guard Nick Saldiveri (calf), running back Kendre Miller (hamstring), receiver Rashid Shaheed (toe/foot), receiver Mason Tipton (hamstring), tight end Kevin Rader (undisclosed), linebacker Jaylan Ford (hamstring), linebacker D'Marco Jackson (calf), and linebacker Isaiah Stalbird (ankle).
Check out the game action shots from the New Orleans Saints game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL Preseason on Aug. 25, 2024 in the Caesars Superdome.