We’re two weeks into the New Orleans Saints’ preseason, and after two games the team’s two real options to start at quarterback are stunningly similar. At least as far as the box score is concerned.
Let’s look at the comparison between Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler after two preseason games:
- Spencer Rattler: 25 completions on 35 pass attempts for 252 yards, a touchdown, an interception, 3 sacks, and a fumble. Rattler has 41 rushing yards on 6 carries with a two-point conversion.
- Tyler Shough: 24 completions on 34 pass attempts for 231 yards, a touchdown, an interception, 4 sacks, and no fumbles. Shough has 3 rushing yards on a single carry.
As the kids say, they’re having a mid off. Neither quarterback has blown us away or even scored multiple touchdowns through two games. They both look to be at the mercy of their offensive line, which hasn’t played well without Erik McCoy anchoring it. Rattler hasn’t gone into a game with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed yet, while Shough watched Olave drop what would have been a big-time completion. You can’t really say either guy has had a more favorable situation than the other. Rattler has a slight edge with his rushing ability but that’s going to be diminished once defenses begin planning for it.
Let’s take it another way and look at their performance while leading the first-team offense. Here are those drive results:
- Rattler: Punt, turnover on downs, punt, fumble, punt
- Shough: Field goal, punt, punt, field goal, punt
Yeah. That’s not great. We haven’t seen these guys play a full game with McCoy in the middle of the line and Alvin Kamara in the backfield or all four of their top pass-catchers (Olave, Shaheed, Juwan Johnson, and Brandin Cooks) available at the same time. Odds are we won’t see it next week in the final preseason game, either. But if there’s any reason to dampen expectations for the Saints this season, it’s that these two quarterbacks are the best options they could find to compete for the starting job. Whether the ceiling with them is four wins or five, it’s beginning to feel like a surety that the Saints will be scouting quarterbacks heavily in 2026. The only way that isn’t the case is if Rattler or Shough flips a switch. Time is running out for them to find it.