Saints Fall to Chargers in First Preseason Game

(Los Angeles, California) - The New Orleans Saints kicked off their preseason with a hard-fought 27-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. While it wasn't perfect, it was a game filled with learning moments for the Saints as preseason continues.

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Rattler Started Off Behind Shaky Offensive Line

Spencer Rattler was the first of the Saints quarterbacks to get snaps, completing 7 of 11 passes for 53 yards. However, he struggled behind a shaky offensive line, getting sacked multiple times and losing a fumble to the Chargers. The Saints moved to a two-quarterback look, bringing in rookie Tyler Shough before halftime. Shough made an quick impact leading a two-minute drill that set up a field goal.

Shough Responds to Adversity

Things got rocky in the third quarter when Shough threw a pick-six that extended the Chargers lead, but he bounced right back, tossing an exciting 54-yard touchdown pass to Mason Tipton that showed real upside. Unfortunately, the excitement ended there.

Mistakes Cost the Saints Dearly

Despite that touchdown, the Chargers kept control of the game with a few field goals and took advantage of New Orleans’ discipline issues including the penalties which piled up, in addition to the Saints inability to consistently move the ball.

On defense, rookie Danny Stutsman stood out, responsible for three tackles and showing a strong presence on the field which was encouraging.

The first Saints preseason showed some promising moments as well as growing pains. With the quarterback battle heating up, the Saints look to next week’s matchup at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, where they’ll look to clean up mistakes and keep improving as the regular season approaches. Here are some of the moments captured by Getty Images of the first Saints game of the 2025-2026 season.