GLENDALE, Ariz. — The New Orleans Saints opened their 16-14 preseason win against the Cardinals in Arizona on Saturday night with a rather uninspiring showing by the starters under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Rookie fifth-round quarterback Spencer Rattler rallied the Saints with less than two minutes on the clock with a 12-play, 56-yard drive capped by a game-winning 37-yard field goal from first-year Irish kicker Charlie Smyth with 5 seconds to play.
In his two drives of the game, quarterback Derek Carr went 2 of 6 for 12 yards as the Saints moved the ball just 18 yards – with the last a quick three and out with no yards gained.
Running back Alvin Kamara gained five yards on one carry in the opening drive but was tackled for a 2-yard loss on the next series to drop his average to 1.5 yards after two carries.
"It's a win," Saints head coach Dennis Allen said after the game. "There's certainly a lot of things we have to clean up. But ultimately we were able to get a win in an NFL game. There's a lot of things we need to clean up offensively, but I thought two 2-minute drives, being able to go down and execute, really ended up kind of being the difference in the game."
The Saints began the game with three new faces on the offensive line, including 2024 first-round draft pick Taliese Fuaga.
As expected, last year's fourth-round selection Jake Haener took over for Carr after the Saints' second offensive series.
The Saints finished the first quarter with 16 yards passing and 11 yards rushing for a total of 27 in a 0-0 tie with the Cardinals.
Haener finished the half 9 of 13 for 107 yards and led the Saints to a 6-0 halftime lead thanks to two field goals of 26 and 33 yards from kicker Blake Grupe.
Rattler started the second half and on his first series as an NFL quarterback capped a 7-play, 70-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to retake the lead 13-7 with 6:38 to play in the third quarter.
Rattler finished 9 of 17 for 70 yards passing and 2 carries for 8 yards rushing with the TD.
"I thought he executed with poise," Dennis Allen told media regarding Rattler following the game. "I thought he made some plays. I thought he was able to create a little bit with his feet when things didn't go exactly how you wanted it to. So, I thought he did a good job.
"I thought Haener did well," he continued. "I was pleased with what we were able to get accomplished with those two players. Now we're going to go back and look at the tape and we're going to make the corrections we need to make. There's some things that we have to be better at, but I thought overall for a first preseason game, and this being Spencer's first shot out, I was pleased with what I saw."
Two-year Saints running back Jordan Mims led with 38 yards rushing on 10 carries, while second-year receiver A.T. Perry, a sixth-round draft pick in 2023, caught 4 receptions off 4 targets for 85 yards, including one for 58.
Saints No. 1 receiver Chris Olave had one reception for 10 yards in the opening drive.
The Saints hired Kubiak in February after firing longtime OC Pete Carmichael the previous month.
Prior to New Orleans, Kubiak served as the passing game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. He is the son of former Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak who was Mike Shanahan's offensive coordinator in Denver during the Broncos title run in the late 90s.
The Saints finished 9-8 last season and have not made the playoffs in three years.
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