It was another gut-wrenching loss in a winnable game, but the Saints did have a few standouts against the Patriots. Here are our Week 6 game balls:
A 25-19 loss at home to the New England Patriots on Sunday sent the New Orleans Saints to a 1-5 record. It was a painfully frustrating loss for the Saints, who had plenty of opportunities to grab a win. Unfortunately, awful play in the secondary, lack of a rushing attack, inability to score touchdowns in plus-territory, and failures in situational football sent them to defeat.
New Orleans fought throughout the game down to the final gun, just as they have in five of their six contests this year. Now, they'll need to show that they can learn from their shortcomings to put together wins. Even in a frustrating loss, here were two of the New Orleans standouts on the day.
Spencer Rattler
Rattler was money most of the day, completing 20 of 26 passes for 227 yards. It was the third highest total of his 13-game NFL career. More than the yardage was the fact that he looked sharper than at any other point during those 13 outings. He completed a 53-yard dart to Chris Olave on the first play of the game and hit several intermediate throws with excellent accuracy throughout the day despite the lack of a rushing attack for support.
Continuing to look poised against the pass rush, Rattler moved away from pressure effectively and made plays down the field for the second straight week. He had a few high throws in the fourth quarter, but for the most part is putting the ball in much better spots for his receivers. Rattler especially showed an excellent chemistry with Olave, who caught 6 passes for 98 yards. Like the rest of the team, Rattler must find a way to finish off drives with touchdowns and make plays with the game on the line. However, his recent play has at least cemented his status as an unquestioned quality starter for at least the next several weeks.
Blake Grupe
Grupe has been under a ton of fire through the first five weeks of the year. He finally responded by hitting all four of his field goal attempts for 34, 48, 38, and 54 yards. Grupe kept his team within striking distance with his ability to put points on the board when the Saints were unable to punch the ball into the end zone.
Unfortunately, Grupe's breakout game also highlighted the fact that the Saints can not finish off drives. There are some positive things that New Orleans can take out of this game, which also included outstanding pass protection and a slightly more feisty defense in the second half. Until the team can capitalize on scoring opportunities with touchdowns, and the defense can get off the field, then results will continue to be as frustrating as today's outcome.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFL Week 6: Game balls from Saints' frustrating loss to Patriots
Category: Football
