Zach Wilson gave the Saints a jolt late, but New Orleans still walked away with plenty to clean up after its loss to the Jaguars.
Wilson, the Saints’ third-string quarterback, stepped in for starter Spencer Rattler and helped spark the offense late in the second half. New Orleans put up 13 points in the second quarter to move in front 20-6, and the final scoring burst came on an 84-yard drive in 1:02 that featured Wilson and two completions of 28-plus yards.
He finished 8 of 11 for 145 yards and a touchdown across four total drives between the second and third quarters. If he keeps producing like that, Wilson could push himself into the Saints’ backup quarterback conversation.
The next two preseason games should tell us more about that battle.
The defense looked sharp early, then faded. New Orleans held Jacksonville to just 6 points in the first half and came away with two interceptions.
But the second half was a different story, as the Jaguars scored 18 points and the Saints didn’t force another turnover. Jacksonville pieced together scoring drives of 10 plays for 79 yards, 17 plays for 41 yards, and 5 plays for 57 yards.
Even with the understanding that this was third-string football on both sides, the Saints’ third-team defense looked rougher than the second team. Depth questions may not become a real issue during the regular season, but this wasn’t a strong first impression.
The offense also had trouble staying on the field. New Orleans went three-and-out four times, punted five times overall, and managed just 4 of 13 on third down.
Its only touchdown drives covered 9 and 28 yards, with one set up by a long kick return and the other by a turnover. The Saints put together only three drives of 50 or more yards, largely because they never got the run game going.
They ran the ball 16 times for 56 yards, while Jacksonville ran 36 times for 118 yards. That kind of uneven production can come with the constant personnel shuffling of the preseason, but the offense needs to look cleaner from here.
In Other News...
Saints Family Thrust Into Painful Spotlight After Chanen Johnson Speaks Out
A recent Instagram post pulled the Johnson family into an uncomfortable public moment, after Chanen Johnson said an alleged racist comment was made about the skin tone of her and Juwan Johnsons daughters. Rather than meeting it with anger, she chose to respond openly and urged people to lean on love and prayer, a reaction that quickly turned a personal slight into something bigger than one familys social media feed.
For Saints fans, it is another reminder of how much life around the team extends well beyond the field, especially for players trying to balance the demands of the NFL with home responsibilities. Chanen Johnson has recently spoken warmly about Juwan Johnsons commitment to family despite his schedule, and the contrast between that support and the pain of the current moment makes the spotlight on the couple feel especially heavy. [Read more 🡒]
Kool-Aid McKinstry Faces The Saints Test That Could Change Everything
Kool-Aid McKinstry has spent the offseason and early stages of training camp stacking up steady work for the Saints, and now the pace is about to pick up. The rookie cornerback has already given New Orleans reason to feel encouraged, but the next stretch should offer a far clearer picture of where he stands as the team shifts from internal evaluations to more revealing competition.
The joint practices against the Cowboys and Rams will give McKinstry a tougher kind of test, the sort that can expose a young defensive back in a hurry. For the Saints, the value is in seeing how he handles that jump in pressure and whether the positive buzz around him keeps holding up when the reps get sharper and the route trees get more demanding. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Suddenly Need Veteran Receiver Help After Costly Camp Setback
A sudden need at receiver has pushed the Saints to do some mid-summer evaluating, and the club brought in veteran options Chase Claypool and Josh Reynolds for workouts as it looks to shore up the room. Claypool, 28, is a former second-round pick with stops across multiple NFL teams, while Reynolds, 31, has been around the league for several seasons and was most recently with the Jets.
The timing matters because New Orleans is already bracing for a setback to one of its newer pass-catching pieces, which has opened the door for added competition and possible insurance. For a team trying to keep its offense on track through camp, veteran depth suddenly looks a lot more interesting than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]