The New Orleans Saints lost to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 7. The final score was 20-13, which was expected given that the Arizona Cardinals were favored by 5.5 points.

Saints’ quarterback Spencer Rattler played a solid game, throwing no interceptions. Rattler threw for 214 yards, outthrowing Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray who threw for 163 yards. However, Rattler completed just under 59% of passes, while opposing quarterback Kyler Murray almost 73%, leaving some room for improvement. 

That being said, Murray is a more experienced quarterback, now in his seventh NFL season. Also, Murray’s relatively low 163 passing yards is an indicator of cautious decision-making, inflating his completion percentage. 

Overall, Rattler’s performance was strong enough to ensure the underdog Saints were competitive. For the Saints to compete with the league’s playoff contenders, a higher completion percentage is essential.

Running back Alvin Kamara led the Saints in rushing with 45 yards. Kamara’s 18-yard run was the only touchdown for the Saints. Kamara also had two receptions for 12 yards. Saints’ tight end Juwan Johnson had eight receptions for 76 yards. The offensive line protected Rattler well, allowing only one sack for a loss of six yards.

The Saints’ defense made great contributions as well, sacking the agile Murray five times for a total loss of 33 yards. Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson both recorded 1.5 sacks. Pete Werner and Alontae Taylor also recorded one sack each.

Regarding the pass defense, the Saints allowed wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to gain 71 yards and tight end Trey McBride to haul in 61 yards. While that is not extraordinary, those two players always pose a significant challenge for defenses. Nobody else on the Cardinals had more than 10 receiving yards, which is fantastic news for the Saints’ defense.

The Saints will look to get their first win of the season when they host the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 14 at 12 p.m.