INGLEWOOD, Calif. — And just like that, the New Orleans Saints (2-6) find themselves on the losing end for a sixth-straight game for the first time since 2005 with a 26-8 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday.
The Saints led 2-0 after the first quarter due to a safety thanks to a bad snap that sent the ball out the back of the Chargers endzone. From there it was all Los Angeles aside from two field goals from New Orleans kicker Blake Grupe, who went 2-of-3, including a long of 43 yards.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler started his third consecutive game since Derek Carr sustained an oblique injury in Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The rookie fifth-rounder went 12-for-24 for 156 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions before being spelled by 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener.
Haener who replaced Rattler last week in the fourth quarter of the Saints' 33-10 loss to the Denver Broncos, went 9-of-17 for 122 yards. He also threw no TDs or INTs and finished with a slightly better QB rating of 76.1 compared to Rattler's 70.8.
Here's what media from around the nation are saying about the Saints fifth loss of the season:
- Ladd McConkey's 2 touchdowns propel Chargers to 26-8 victory over Saints – Joe Reedy, Associated Press
- Chargers hand Saints sixth straight loss; longest losing skid since Katrina season – Luke Johnson, TImes-Picayune
- Jeff Duncan: What we learned from Saints' 26-8 loss to Chargers – Jeff Duncan, Times-Picayune
- Saints coach Dennis Allen explained why he turned to QB Jake Haener – Luke Johnson, TImes-Picayune
- Rod Walker: New Orleans Saints wanted to hit reset button, but it's not as close as they thought – Rod Walker, Times-Picayune
- Better health was supposed to fix the Saints, but five returning only went so far – Matthew Paras, NOLA.com
- Hamstrung: Soft tissue injuries again sideline Saints' Kendre Miller, Marshon Lattimore – Matthew Paras, NOLA.com
- 6 takeaways from Saints' Week 8 loss to Chargers – Jeremy Trottier & Darrion Gray, Yahoo! Sports
- Jake Haener replaces Spencer Rattler at quarterback again for the struggling New Orleans Saints – AP
- New Orleans Saints make surprising decision on Spencer Rattler vs Chargers – Wade Peery, On3.com
- Things got weird early in Saints-Chargers as a safety handed New Orleans early lead – Spencer Urquhart, NOLA.com
- Saints' Nathan Shepherd, Chargers lineman get into it after questionable hit on Justin Herbert – Rashad Milligan, NOLA.com
- Saints make a QB change during third quarter of Chargers game – Spencer Urquhart, NOLA.com
- Dennis Allen chose to kick one of the NFL's most cowardly punts since 1999 – Crissy Froyd, Saintswire (USA Today)
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