Tyler Shough got his first preseason start of his NFL career on Sunday. On his first possession, the New Orleans Saints faced a third-and-30 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That’s mostly how the first half went for Shough. He had a chance to make a big statement as the Saints continue their search for their Week 1 starting quarterback, but his performance could have gone better. New Orleans’ offense rarely moved and the Saints as a whole looked overwhelmed by the Jaguars. The Jags were up 17-3 at halftime and it would have been worse had Jacksonville not fumbled a handoff in the red zone.
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Shough, the team’s second-round draft pick, didn’t do too much in his half. Spencer Rattler was better off the bench. Other than a bad interception in the red zone late in the fourth quarter, Rattler played pretty well Sunday. Perhaps a late touchdown pass by Rattler in the two-minute drill will be enough to get Rattler the QB1 job.
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Shough had four possessions in the first half. Three of them ended in punts and one produced a field goal. Shough completed 9 of 12 passes for 66 yards in the first half. He wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t an outing that should cause Saints head coach Kellen Moore to immediately name him the Week 1 starter against the Arizona Cardinals.
Shough got the chance to start after he outplayed Rattler off the bench in the preseason opener. His start began well, with a completion over the middle for 8 yards. Then he lost his footing on his dropback and was sacked, then held the ball and under pressure he threw it away, taking an intentional grounding penalty. That’s how the Saints ended up with a third-and-30.
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Shough completed his first pass on his second possession but the Saints still went three-and-out when Shough threw too long to Chris Olave downfield on third down.
Shough got some help to start his third drive. He threw a pass into coverage, and it probably wasn’t a good decision, but tight end Treyton Welch made a nice catch while being tightly covered for 28 yards.
That got the drive going. Shough started getting in rhythm, and on third down he found an open Olave for what would have been a first down. Olave had a bad drop, which is rare for him. The Saints settled for a field goal, but it was much better for Shough than the first two drives.
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The Saints had a chance to get more points before halftime, but after two short completions Shough was sacked on third down, and New Orleans punted again. That was Shough’s last action of the day.
Rattler got a big gain right away, when a deep pass turned into a defensive pass interference for 45 yards. But with the Saints inside the 10-yard line, Rattler threw short on first down under pressure for an incompletion, and after a second-down run his timing was off on a back-shoulder throw on third down. The Saints kicked a field goal.
Rattler had a really nice pass later in the third quarter. He threw deep down the right sideline to Mason Tipton, and it was a perfectly placed ball for 45 yards. It was a better pass than Shough had in the first half.
Rattler’s day was going fairly well until he made a big mistake. Rattler drove the Saints to the 13-yard line but telegraphed a pass that was easily picked off by Keni-H Lovely. That isn’t a good look as he chases the starting job.
Rattler rallied. He had one more chance in the two-minute offense, with the Saints trailing 17-9. He had a really nice pass to Tipton near the sideline for 26 yards. On third down, Rattler hit Dante Pettis for a touchdown with 21 seconds left, then tied the game on a run on a 2-point conversion. The game ended in a 17-17 tie when the Saints got an interception on the final play.
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Rattler finished completing 18 of 24 passes for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Perhaps that’s enough for him to win the job.
Other than the interception Rattler looked more comfortable than Shough, though he was also playing against defensive players further down the Jaguars’ depth chart. That was the case for Shough against the Chargers last week. And Shough also threw a bad interception last week, one that was returned for a touchdown. There have been a few good reps from each quarterback, but also some mistakes.
Moore will have to weigh the ups and downs of each quarterback in the preseason as he makes his decision. New Orleans needs to pick a quarterback with its opener three weeks away.
