Saints post Week 6 power rankings

NFL.com – 21 (-5)
“There were some real positives in Spencer Rattler’s first start, with the fifth-round pick taking over for the injured Derek Carr on Sunday. The Saints fell behind 17-0 to Tampa Bay, partially thanks to a fumble by Chris Olave, which produced a Tampa Bay scoop-and-score and knocked the receiver out of the game. Rattler stayed cool, leading two field goal and two touchdown drives in a big second quarter, and he had the Saints in a position to win at the break. The second half, however, was pretty ugly on the whole. A lot of that blame falls on a Saints defense that allowed eight drives of 43 or more yards and had few answers in the second and fourth quarters. Rattler threw two second-half picks and took three sacks, but it’s hard to pin this loss in any way on the rookie QB. The Saints have much bigger problems defensively right now.”

USA Today – 20 (+1)
“Talk about a split personality. The game against Tampa Bay mirrors the Saints’ season. Some awful, some good, and in the end, a four-game losing streak and ownership has to wonder what is going on.”

Bleacher Report – 18 (=)

The New Orleans Saints have problems—plural.

Over the first two weeks of the year, the Saints scored 91 points in blowout wins. Since then? Nothing. And Sunday’s lopsided loss at home was a new nadir.

The Chiefs were an absolute disaster defensively against Tampa, allowing nearly 600 yards of offense and over 50 points. Making his first NFL start in place of the injured Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler was shaky at quarterback, completing just over half his passes and tossing a pair of interceptions. Both of those interceptions (and five sacks) came in the second half, and head coach Dennis Allen told reporters that the Saints didn’t execute well enough around their young signal-caller.

“I don’t think we did enough around him to help him,” Allen said. “It was hard for us to be able to run. They won the line of scrimmage. He did some things really well early in the game, but as the second half kind of went on, they started to pressure him a little bit more.”

Injury was added to insult as well—No. 1 wide receiver Chris Olave left the game with a concussion, and with the Saints playing on a short week in Week 6, New Orleans will likely be without him against the Denver Broncos.

Analyst’s Take

Spencer Rattler isn’t ready to unseat Derek Carr as the starting quarterback, but he can help the Saints pull out a win or two as a fill-in starter.

Last week, Rattler showed pocket poise and willingness to improvise on the move, but he needs help and doesn’t quite have it with wide receiver Chris Olave in concussion protocol. — Moton

CBS Sports – 20 (-1)
Even if Derek Carr played against the Buccaneers, it wouldn’t have mattered. They gave up 51 points at home. Spencer Rattler did some good things in his first start, so don’t blame him.

Sports Illustrated – 25 (-5)
“It’s hard not to feel for Dennis Allen, who seemed to be getting some traction with this team and this offense before Derek Carr was injured and they hit the swampy part of their schedule. Now, New Orleans is looking at tough games against both Denver and the Chargers. While not as difficult as Tampa Bay, both of New Orleans’s next opponents are tough and equally desperate.”