There were some flashes from the New Orleans Saints in Sunday's 51-27 loss to Tampa Bay in the Caesars Superdome; mainly, a 27-point second quarter which helped them erase a 17-0 deficit.
But there obviously wasn't enough to enable them to hold on. Still, there were some moments provided by several players.
OFFENSE: Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler wasn't perfect, and it wouldn't have been reasonable to expect that from him in his first NFL start. But the fifth-round pick showed some flashes of what can be; he was effective on rollouts and misdirection plays and gave New Orleans an extra dimension as a scrambler. Rattler completed 22 of 40 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, and he was sacked five times. He ran for 27 yards on four carries. Nothing earth-shattering, but he got a real NFL game under his belt and hopefully, he can digest and use what he learned quickly.
DEFENSE: It's hard to pinpoint heroes when the unit allows 44 points (seven points for Tampa Bay came off a fumble return for a touchdown), 594 yards and 8.3 yards per play. But we'll hand this one to the three guys who came up with the three interceptions: Cornerback Paulson Adebo, who also had 10 tackles and two passes defensed; safety Johnathan Abram, who added seven tackles; and defensive end Cam Jordan, who came up with the third pick of his career off a pass that was batted by defensive tackle Bryan Bresee.
SPECIAL TEAMS: All-Pro returner Rashid Shaheed always is a threat to take any touch the distance. Sunday, it was a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter which ignited the crowd and gave Shaheed his fourth big score of the season. He added it to touchdown catches of 43, 59 and 70 yards.
Check out the game action shots from the New Orleans Saints game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6 of the 2024 NFL Season on Oct. 13, 2024 in the Caesars Superdome.