<body><div>INGLEWOOD, Calif. — A quarterback change was not enough to stop a season from continuing to slip out of the New Orleans Saints hands.A desperate Saints team tried to find a spark when it benched rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler in the third quarter in favor of Jake Haener. The move was too little, and too late as the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Saints 26-8, handing New Orleans its first six-game losing streak since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina season.Each of the last four Saints losses have been by double digits.“Look, we all understand that it’s a results-oriented business, and we need to play better football,” coach Dennis Allen said. “We all understand that.”With Rattler under center, the New Orleans Saints punted on eight of their first nine possessions against the Los Angeles Chargers. By the time the game reached the 4:50 mark of the third quarter, coach Dennis Allen had seen enough of the rookie quarterback and turned the offense over to Haener.The offense performed marginally better under Haener, who led a field goal drive on his first possession and drove the Saints into scoring range two more times. Leading four possessions, Haener completed 9 of his 17 passes for 122 yards.But a little better was not close to enough. Haener’s three drives into scoring range still netted the Saints just three points. One featured a missed field goal, and the other was a garbage-time drive with the game in hand that ended with an incomplete pass at the goal line on an untimed down.“Obviously we want to score touchdowns,” Haener said. “… My job is to get it in the end zone, so we’ve got to be better there, I’ve got to help my guys when they need me and continue to improve.Rattler, meanwhile, completed 50% (12-for-24) of his pass attempts for 156 yards while taking three sacks. New Orleans failed to generate much of any offensive rhythm with him in the game, with a number of drives stalling out on third and long.And while New Orleans played better defensively against the Chargers than they have in recent weeks, they were once again done in by their inability to prevent explosive plays.Despite their offensive struggles, the Saints were only trailing by four points midway through the third quarter when Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert launched a jump ball toward the sideline for rookie receiver Ladd McConkey.McConkey beat Saints corner Alontae Taylor to the ball, then weaved through the Saints secondary on his way to a 60-yard touchdown that gave Los Angeles a 16-5 lead.Later in the fourth quarter, Herbert connected on another deep strike, this one going for 40 yards to receiver Josh Palmer, who ran by Saints corner Kool-Aid McKinstry to make the play. That set up a Cameron Dicker field goal that pushed the Chargers’ lead to 19-8.The final nail in the coffin was a 9-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to McConkey, which was set up by a beautiful 24-yard throw from Herbert to Jalen Reagor.That was more than enough against a Saints offense that has now scored just one touchdown in its last 10 quarters.Defensively, New Orleans got off to the kind of start that made it look like a team that was eager to put its recent struggles in the rearview.While the Chargers were going three-and-out on their first two possessions, New Orleans had defenders flying to the ball and pressuring quarterback Herbert — areas where the Saints defense has consistently struggled throughout its losing streak.After the second of those possessions, with Los Angeles backed up near its own goal line, Chargers punter JK Scott mishandled a snap. He was trying to field it in his own end zone when Taysom Hill drilled him and sent the ball wobbling toward the sideline. It was ultimately knocked out of bounds for a safety that gave New Orleans an early 2-0 lead.But a Saints offense that saw four starters return to the lineup from injury could not make the strong defensive start matter.There were some nice plays. Alvin Kamara broke loose for a 23-yard run on the Saints’ first offensive play, then added a 37-yard gain on a screen later in the first half. Chris Olave, returning after a one-game absence because of a concussion, caught passes for 15 and 20 yards.But there were too many setbacks to offset the good.There was a sack that set up a third-and-8, a block in the back that set up a third-and-15 and a hold that set up a third-and-20. New Orleans didn’t convert any of those opportunities while punting on each of their first five possessions.“We made some big plays, we made some explosive plays, and then we followed it up with penalties, which put us in long-distance situations,” Allen said. “Right now, we’re not overcoming those. We’ve got to play a cleaner game to give ourselves a chance.”</div></body>

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Chargers hand Saints their 6th straight loss; longest losing skid since 2005 Katrina season

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — A quarterback change was not enough to stop a season from continuing to slip out of the New Orleans Saints hands. A desperate Saints team tried to find a spark when it benched rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler in the third quarter in favor of Jake Haener. The move was too little, and too late as the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Saints 26-8, handing New Orleans its first six-game losing streak since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina season.

Chargers hand Saints their 6th straight loss; longest losing skid since 2005 Katrina season

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