It was only four years ago that Drew Brees was still winning football games for the New Orleans Saints, but given the franchise's recent run of futility, it feels like much longer than that. The legendary quarterback piled up stats and won a Super Bowl in 2010, leading what was consistently one of the top offenses in the NFL during his 15 years in the Big Easy. Brees rewrote the record book, but even he couldn't do what Spencer Rattler did on Sunday.
Before this weekend, Rattler had started 10 games for the Saints, and he hadn't won a single one of them. It's not all his fault, of course, as the Saints have fielded one of the least-talented rosters in football during his young career. Still, it's been tough sledding for the former fifth-round pick, which is why it was so nice to see him get his first professional win.
Rattler played a solid game against the Giants, throwing for 225 yards and a touchdown. That score was a thing of beauty, a play-action fake into a Rashid Shaheed corner route that went for 87 yards. Perhaps the best part of his box score was the fact that he led an offense that committed zero turnovers, while on the other side the Giants set some history of their own by turning it over on five straight possessions.
Spencer Rattler made history for the Saints on Sunday
Per CBS Sports Research, Rattler became the first quarterback drafted by the Saints to lead them to victory since Danny Wuerffel in 1998. That's 27 years since a homegrown QB won one for the Saints, an even more incredible number when you consider that even after accounting for Brees and his 15 years, there are still 12 more seasons in which the Saints didn't win with someone they drafted.
Derek Carr was drafted by the Raiders and signed with the Saints as a free agent. Andy Dalton spent nine years in Cincinnati, one in Dallas and one in Chicago before becoming a Saint. Jameis Winston went No. 1 to the Bucs. Even Taysom Hill, who many consider an OG Saint, went undrafted and first played in the 2017 preseason for the Packers.
Brees is a New Orleans legend, but he began his career in San Diego, playing five years for the Chargers after being taken with the 32nd overall pick. Concern over an injury to his throwing shoulder led to the Chargers letting him walk. Even before Brees got to town, Aaron Brooks had some success but, like Hill, was also originally a Packer.
The fact that Wuerffel, who won the 1996 Heisman Trophy with the Florida Gators, is the last homegrown Saints starter to win a game should make all football fans who remember his Saints tenure feel very old. I know I do. We weren't quite in the Bobby Hebert-Jim Everett years, but we weren't far off, either.
How many more wins can Spencer Rattler pile up this year?
The last time the Saints won a game before Sunday's win over the Giants was also against the Giants. Here's the bad news: they don't get to play Big Blue any more this season. There are reasons for some optimism, though, even with a 1-4 record.
With the exception of Week 3's beatdown at Seattle, the Saints have been in every game they've played. They lost one-score games to the Cardinals and 49ers in Weeks 1 and 2, and last week, they briefly took a fourth-quarter lead in Buffalo against the undefeated Bills before Brandin Cooks' go-ahead touchdown catch was overturned via replay.
Nobody expects the Saints to make a playoff run, but the schedule going forward is softer than a fresh beignet from Cafe du Monde. Late-season dates with the Dolphins, Jets and Titans, plus two each with the Panthers and Falcons, should mean that Rattler's first win won't be his last. Next week's game also presents a real opportunity to make some noise, as he'll face a Patriots team that is on top of the world after beating the Bills on Sunday Night Football and will be facing a prime letdown spot.
We ran a piece last week that projected the Saints to finish with the league's worst record and take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick, but let's slow down that line of thought. Rattler is averaging just under 200 yards per game, and his 6:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio should have Saints fans excited for his continued development. Let's give him a chance to keep growing.