Photos from the 1st half of the Saints Chargers Preseason Week 3 mathcup in Los Angeles
Carson, Calif. - Quarterback Drew Brees made his debut of the 2018 preseason Saturday night at the StubHub Center but more eyes were on another New Orleans Saints player seeing his first action: first-round pick Marcus Davenport.
The 6-foot-6 defensive end out of Texas-San Antonio didn't play in the first two preseason games but entered in the first quarter and by all accounts made a successful debut in the Saints' 36-7 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers (1-2). Davenport, who initially saw the field as a temporary replacement for a shaken up Trey Hendrickson, was credited with a half-sack and three tackles.
Brees didn't have his greatest outing - 7 of 9 for 59 yards and one interception - but backups Tom Savage and Taysom Hill eached played well. Hill got things started with a fake punt conversion and then added a rushing touchdown, a 2-point conversion (one of three for the Saints on Saturday) and a bullet touchdown pass to rookie Tre'Quan Smith. Savage, who replaced Brees, was an efficient 7 of 10 for 99 yards and hit Tommylee Lewis on a very nicely thrown deep ball for 36 yards.
After initially giving up some yards and one touchdown to the Philip Rivers-led Chargers offense, the defense settled in and scored its first points of the preseason, a 58-yard pick-six by cornerback Marcus Williams (not to be confused with starting safety Marcus Williams). After trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, the Saints outscored the Chargers 36-0 the rest of the game.
Running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram played briefly, with Kamara scoring on a 2-yard run and with Ingram rushing seven times for 24 yards. Defensive end Cameron Jordan also played for the Saints (2-1) for the first time this preseason.
Wil Lutz made two field goals for the Saints, a 25-yarder and a 35-yarder as time expired in the first half. Punter Thomas Morstead had a typically strong outing.
The Saints, who had three point practices with the Chargers this week, will end their preseason at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30 against the Los Angeles Rams at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
