Saints Biggest Winners, Biggest Losers, & Biggest Question vs Rams

Aug 22, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Jarquez Hunter (27) carries the ball against the New Orleans Saints in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Saints Biggest Winners, Biggest Losers, & Biggest Question vs Rams

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Doug Joubert | Last updated Aug 22, 2026 7:07 PM ET

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A sluggish first half by the Saints, then a pair of 2nd half turnovers by the New Orleans offense led to the Saints getting swamped by Los Angeles, 34-0. Even a makeable 39-yard field goal attempt by rookie Tanner Brown sailed wide right with less than a minute left in the game. With the loss, the Saints drop to 0-2 in preseason games.

Watch for our Game Story by Grant Chachere and the four important quotes shortly after the game.

Biggest Question

A troubling performance by the Saints on both sides of the ball led to Saturday's defeat at the hands of the Rams. Not to take anything away from Los Angeles: they are a solid, playoff team, but it does beg the question:

Did the two joint-practices this week against the Cowboys then the Rams along with two preseason games within seven days lead to Saturday's lackluster effort?

Biggest Winners

Punter Ryan Wright

You know what kind of game it must be if your punter is your biggest winner. Ryan Wright consistently put up rain-producing punts. His hang time was well over 4-seconds each time, averaged almost 48-yards each time he kicked, and had one get down inside the 20-yard line of the Rams.

Biggest Losers

The Saints Offense

An embarrassing performance by the Saints O on the day: two interceptions thrown by New Orleans QBs, a plethora of penalties at the most inopportune times, a leaky offensive front that allowed seemingly constant pressure on said quarterbacks, fumbles both out of bounds and inbounds spelled an overall ugly outcome.

Even in the second half, when the Saints drove down the field under the leadership of Spencer Rattler, the offense would give it up twice in a row in the Rams red zone: once on a pick-six interception run back 100-yards, then a fumble by running back Ty Chandler at the L.A. three followed that up.

The Saints Defense

After an impressive 1st quarter performance, giving up a field goal (yes, there was a TD, but that was after a Zach Wilson interception in Saints territory, so we'll give them that one), the D collapsed, giving up chunk after chunk of rushing yardage. When the Rams did go back to pass, there was rarely any pressure on the L.A. quarterbacks.

By the way, the defense was called for 12-men on the field twice in the game: once in the first half, another time in the 2nd.

Zach Wilson

My oh my, how things change in seven days.

Last week Wilson was one of our biggest winners. Not so today. The former second pick overall in the NFL draft back in 2021 by the Jets returned to Earth with a crash. Playing in the 1st half, Wilson did a almost carbon copy of what Spencer Rattler did last week: 6-of-12 passing, 55-yards, and an interception.

New Orleans Saints Preseason Schedule

Sat. Aug. 15: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (L 24-20)
Sat. Aug. 22: @ Los Angeles Rams, (L 34-0)
Fri. Aug. 28: @ Dallas Cowboys, 7 p.m., FOX

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This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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