NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 26-14 win against the New York Giants on Sunday, their first win since Dec. 8, 2024.
Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler also got his first win as a starter after beginning his career 0-10, which was the longest active losing streak in the NFL. Four of his losses came under interim coach Darren Rizzi last year after Dennis Allen was fired.
The Saints had previously led only for 4 minutes and 15 seconds this season (their last lead was in the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals), which was the fewest minutes leading in the NFL according to ESPN Research. They took a 16-14 lead against the Giants going into halftime after the Giants committed the first of five straight turnovers and would not relinquish it.
"You never know which play is going to make a difference in a game through all four quarters and I thought our defense just did an incredible job of attacking the football," said Saints coach Kellen Moore. "To create five turnovers in a game is really, really special."
Rattler was one of two players given a game ball by Moore after completing 20 of 30 passes for 225 yards and a career-long 87 yard pass to wide receiver Rashid Shaheed.
The other was cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, who had the first two interceptions of his career, both coming against rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
"It feels good to come into the locker room ... to music and everybody's smiling and dancing and that's what we work hard for. So, it all paid off this week," said Shaheed, whose touchdown was also a career long.
Moore also got a game ball from the players for getting his first win as a head coach.
"It's great feeling. He got a game ball as well. Obviously first win for him, first win for me, so it's a good feeling," Rattler said. "Keep that ball at home and keep it for a long time."
The Saints' win was aided by the five takeaways -- the interceptions by McKinstry and fumble recoveries by defensive end Cameron Jordan, rookie safety Jonas Sanker and safety Jordan Howden. Howden, who came in after starting safety Justin Reid left with a concussion, returned a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter and put the Saints up by two scores.
The Saints also got quarterback Taysom Hill and tight end Foster Moreau back for the first time this season after both were injured at the end of last season.
Moore admitted there had been some "challenging times" in the first month of the season and credited the team's resilience for fighting through it. The Saints started 0-4 and were competitive in three of those losses but got blown out in a 44-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3.
"By no means is it the perfect script to start a journey together as a group, but I thought our guys just battled the entire game and it was really fun to see those guys [win]," Moore said.
It had also been challenging for Rattler, who did not win a game last year in two separate stints filling in for an injured Derek Carr. Moore and several players have talked about wanting to get Rattler a win, and Moore cited Rattler specifically when talking about the emotions of the win on Sunday.
"We have an awesome group. I love the energy. I love the joy that these guys bring each and every day and certainly for a lot of our guys, it's not just, obviously me, a lot of this group is coming together for the first time for Spence, for him battling through a lot of things through the last year and a half for him, and so I was fired up for him as well," Moore said.
Rattler said that he has tried to stay on an even course throughout the team's losing streak and not press too hard to try to get the results he wanted. Through five games this season, he has completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 990 yards, six touchdowns and one interception and has been sacked nine times, but did not turn the ball over or get sacked on Sunday.
"You've got to weather the storm, just keep going, keep having the same process. The outcome will take care of itself," Rattler said. "The past is the past, now we're just looking towards the future, keep stacking wins, keep some momentum going and try to get W's every week."