Canal Street Chronicles
The 2025 NFL Preseason officially kicked off for the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon from a sunny SoFi Stadium in southern California, where the black and gold took on the Los Angeles Chargers in their first test under rookie head coach Kellen Moore.
As ever, all eyes were on the quarterback position in the lead-up to the game, as second-year pro Spencer Rattler was named the starter after his impressive early training camp showings.
But it was the Saints‘ defense that hit the field first in this one, with a pass breakup by Isaac Yiadom forcing an early punt by the Chargers to set up an opening drive for Rattler and the offense.
Despite a few nice plays in which Rattler showed poise in the pocket – highlighted by a big gain on a connection with Cedrick Wilson Jr – a holding penalty pinned the Saints back and forced them into a punt. The offense was only on the sideline for a short moment, though, as the punt was muffed and recovered by Treyton Welch to put the black and gold in the red zone.
Nevertheless, a frustrating sequence ended with a 4th and goal attempt being stuffed by LA’s run defense. A turnover on downs meant the game remained scoreless.
The teams would proceed to exchange three-and-outs, with Chargers QB Taylor Heinicke starting the following drive deep in his own territory after another good punt from James Burnip. After a near-safety caused by pressure from Khristian Boyd, the Saints’ defense forced yet another three-and-out. Brandon Staley’s outfit certainly put on a strong showing in the first quarter against his former team, and the game remained scoreless as the first 15 minutes came to a close.
The opening play of the second was one to forget for Rattler as he was strip-sacked from behind, giving Chargers QB Trey Lance a short field as he entered the game for the first time. While the drive went nowhere, field position was good enough for Los Angeles to kick through a 44-yard field goal to at last open the scoring.
Rattler remained in the game after a great kick return from Kendre Miller, and a smart QB scramble on third down brought the drive into Chargers territory. More penalties halted the black and gold from there, though, and Burnip was out to punt once more.
A longer Chargers drive ensued, with Trey Lance scrambling for 14 yards and a first down just outside the red zone as we reached the two-minute warning.
Lance picked up another 17 yards on the ground a play later, taking the Chargers down to the five-yard line with a chance to punch in the first touchdown of the afternoon. Yet another scramble from Lance resulted in just that, as he ran in to extend the lead for Los Angeles. The Saints stopped the two-point attempt short of the goal line to keep the lead at 9-0.
The two-minute drill saw Moore...
