This may have been the best game Spencer Rattler has played with the New Orleans Saints, but his limitations are coming into focus. For one thing, the Saints lost. Again. His record as a starter is now 1-11. We can argue about how much blame he deserves for that record, but it is what it is. Rattler’s best effort wasn’t enough to get it done against the New England Patriots.
Of the 11 quarterbacks who have thrown at least 25 passes in the red zone this year (Rattler has 26), nobody has completed fewer throws (46.2%) or averaged fewer yards per attempt than Rattler (2.5). Of the 10 quarterbacks who have attempted 50 or more passes on third downs (Rattler is at 51), he ranks second-to-last in first down conversions (14). He’s lowest in yards per attempt in that phase, too (4.7), by a big margin.
To his credit, Rattler has become a quarterback who won’t be the reason your team loses on Sundays. He’s only thrown a single interception through six games, the only QB in the league who can say so. He’s taking sacks at a below-average rate and avoiding negative plays. He’s set a floor for himself.
But he isn’t playing well enough to win games, either. We saw Drake Maye do that for New England when he made huge throws under pressure. Maye’s receivers made some big-time catches, too, which we haven’t seen often enough from Chris Olave. If Rattler is the franchise quarterback his fans want him to be, he needs to match Maye stride for stride. Instead he trailed for most of the game while stalling out in Patriots territory and settling for field goals.
Rattler is probably the 22nd-best quarterback in the NFL right now. He won’t play badly enough to lose games, but he can’t elevate those around him high enough to beat good teams, either. If that’s the story with him, as it is with many backups around the league, the Saints are going to bench him and give Tyler Shough a shot once the coaches are confident he’s ready for it, and they’re going to keep looking for other options at quarterback. He’s 1-11. At some point you are who your record says you are.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Spencer Rattler’s best game yet wasn’t enough to get the Saints a win
