The New Orleans Saints dropped their ninth game of the season after coming up short at home against the Washington Commanders 20-19.
Even though the Saints lost, interim head coach Darren Rizzi said that he was incredibly proud of the way his guys played.
“It was just a mixture of emotions because we walk off the field with a loss, but I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a team, so it’s certainly a mixed bag there,” Rizzi said during a post-game press conference.
The Saints did replace backup quarterback Jake Haener with 2024 fifth-round draft pick Spencer Rattler. Though Rizzi said that he didn’t put all of the blame for the offense’s first-half issues on the quarterback, he explained how bringing in Rattler gave the offense a much-needed spark.
“We felt like we needed to make a change there at halftime. We did,” Rizzi clarified. “Spencer did a great job, came in, and provided some spark.”
The spark enabled the Saints to come back from a 14-0 halftime deficit to make it a 20-13 game late in the fourth quarter.
New Orleans took possession of the football with 1:55 remaining in the game down seven at their own 44 yard line. Spencer Rattler then led the Saints on an 11-play, 56-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Foster Moreau. This left the Saints with a tough decision to either kick the extra point and go for the tie or attempt the two-point conversion and win the game. Unfortunately, Spencer Rattler was unable to complete the two-point conversion attempt to tight end Juwan Johnson, resulting in a 20-19 Saints loss.
“We needed one more play, and – unfortunately – we dug too big of a hole in the first half,” Rizzi said. “That was just an unbelievable fight to the finish, and we were just one play short.”
Even though the Saints lost, Rizzi expressed the appreciation he has for his team.
“When I took this job, on my first day, I told everyone that we weren’t going to lack passion, and we weren’t going to be boring to watch,” Rizzi added. “That was an exciting half of football. I wish we would have duplicated it for two halves.”
On November 4, 2024, Darren Rizzi was named the Saints’ interim head coach after the franchise dismissed Dennis Allen. Since taking over as the coach of New Orleans, the team is 3-2 in its last five games.
