NEW ORLEANS (AP) — There were moments when rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler had a rollicking Superdome crowd believing that he could guide the New Orleans Saints to their largest comeback victory since 2009.
Then he, and the Saints, got shaken, rattled and rolled.
Rattler, a fifth-round draft pick making his NFL debut in place of the injured Derek Carr (oblique), threw two interceptions and was sacked five times in the second half on Sunday as a three-point lead turned into a 51-27 blowout defeat to NFC South rival Tampa Bay.
New Orleans, which scored 20 points in a 5:06 span of the second quarter to erase a 17-0 deficit, was shut out after halftime.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a few times, made a few mistakes, starting with myself,” Rattler said. “Got to play better in the second half, but we fought, we battled and we’ll learn and get better from it.”
Rattler, inactive behind Carr and second-year quarterback Jake Haener for the first five games, hurt the Bucs early on with a series of planned roll outs. He finished 22 of 40 for 243 yards, but was only 11 of 23 for 103 yards after halftime.
All of the Bucs’ five sacks came in the second half.
“We were setting the edge more with our outside guys instead of trying to drop them,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles sad. “We knew if we could cut him off in the pocket and just keep him as a pocket passer, we’d have a chance to get a little pressure on him.”
Rattler was sacked twice in a row after the Saints took over near midfield following a Tampa Bay punt in the third quarter, leading to Chris Godwin’s catch and run for a 55-yard score as the Bucs went ahead for good, 31-27.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, cornerback Zyon McCollum intercepted Rattler’s underthrown deep pass, intended for receiver Rashid Shaheed, at the Tampa Bay 42, leading to an insurance touchdown.
When safety Tykee Smith picked off another underthrown pass, it ended a stretch of five series during which the Saints had only one first down and two turnovers.
“They definitely had a good plan that second half but it came down to execution,” Rattler said. “It was about what we could have done better and what I could have done better.”
Rattler received one of the loudest roars, along with star running back Alvin Kamara, during pregame introductions. The former Oklahoma and South Carolina QB drew more cheers when he completed his first pass for 27 yards.
His next throw was on target, too, but Smith stripped Chris Olave of the ball and Antoine Winfield Jr. returned the fumble 58 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Tampa Bay lead. Olave also sustained a concussion on the play from a helmet-to-helmet hit from McCollum, leaving the Saints without their top wide receiver.
“It’s unfortunate to see your top guy go down early in the game," Rattler said of Olave. "We wanted to really get him involved this game.”
Rattler responded well to the early adversity. He went 4 of 4 for 40 yards on a field-goal drive that cut the deficit to 17-3. He threw a strike to Bub Means in the corner of the end zone for his first career scoring toss and Means’ first career touchdown. That gave the Saints their first lead at 20-17. He hit tight end Foster Moreau for 41 yards to set up Alvin Kamara’s 4-yard touchdown run 2:47 before halftime to give the Saints their last lead of the game.
While Rattler struggled, New Orleans gave up 594 yards—11 shy of the franchise record set against Minnesota in 2004 — and were outrushed 277-81.
"I don’t think we did enough around him to help him,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said of Rattler before adding he intended to start the rookie QB again Thursday against Denver. “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.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) runs against Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (9) during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Bub Means, middle left, celebrates with quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) and teammates after scoring against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) celebrates during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Another 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before dawn Saturday, the military said.
The Houthis issued a statement on Telegram saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
“A flash of light, a blow and we fell to the ground. Big mess, broken glasses all over the place,” said Bar Katz, a resident of a damaged building.
The attack came after Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people Thursday. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi long-range missile that hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.
Israel's military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports that will lead to the "immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Hodeida port has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides’ attacks risk further escalation in the region.
Mourners in Gaza held funerals for 19 people — 12 of them children — killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and overnight.
One strike hit a residential building in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, and injuring 16 others, health officials said.
In Gaza City, a strike on a house killed 12 people, including seven children and two women, according to Al-Ahli Hospital where the bodies were taken.
One man cradled a tiny shroud-wrapped body as mourners gathered at the hospital in Gaza City. Women comforted each other as they wept.
Overall, Gaza's Health Ministry said 21 people had been killed over the past 24 hours.
More than 45,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, when a Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered the 14-month war. The health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said more than half of fatalities are women and children.
Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian deaths in Gaza. It says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.
Gaza's Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in largely isolated northern Gaza, while the hospital director described conditions as dire, as Israel's military presses its latest offensive.
The ministry reported continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital, saying “shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic.”
Hospital director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh said the facility faced “severe shortages” and asserted that requests for essential medical supplies and ways to maintain oxygen, water and electricity systems "have largely gone unmet.”
He said 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.
“Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded," Safiyeh added. “We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us.”
Aid groups have said Israeli military operations and armed gangs have hindered their ability to distribute aid.
The Israeli military organization dealing with humanitarian affairs for Gaza said Saturday it had led an operation delivering thousands of food packages, flour and water to the Beit Hanoun area in the north. It said trucks with the U.N. World Food Program transported them to distribution centers in the area Friday.
Iran on Saturday said unknown gunmen had killed a local staffer of the Iranian embassy in Syria, the official IRNA news agency said.
Its report quoted foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying “terrorists” opened fire on Davood Bitaraf’s car last Sunday. It did not say what he did with the embassy.
Baghaei said Iran considers Syria’s interim government responsible for finding and prosecuting those behind the killing. Iran had been a key ally of recently ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad.
Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Men pray over the bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp during a funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital before their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An Israeli soldier observes the site where the missile launched from Yemen landed Jaffa district, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)
