Saints' Spencer Rattler Benched for Rookie Tyler Shough After 2 Turnovers vs. Bucs

The New Orleans Saints turned to rookie quarterback Tyler Shough in the third quarter of Sunday's matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after starter Spencer Rattler threw an interception, lost a fumble and took three sacks.

It's only Shough's second appearance in the 2025 season after being a second-round pick by New Orleans in April's draft.

His first drive didn't end well, as he was credited for an interception, though it appeared that Antoine Winfield Jr. ripped the ball out of Chris Olave's hands on a pass that should have been caught and secured:

Rattler won the starting job for the Saints in the preseason and it didn't feel like the Saints appointed him that position to be a placeholder.

"Spencer's our starting quarterback, Tyler is going to keep developing," head coach Kellen Moore told reporters in late August after announcing the decision. "You need a couple of quarterbacks. ... It's a long NFL season. I think we do value that we have depth there and we'll have to navigate the rest as we go, but we're really, really excited about Spence. He's going to do an awesome job for us."

Rattler seemed to justify the decision, throwing for 1,450 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions through seven games while completing 67.7 percent of his passes and taking 15 sacks.

It was solid enough production for a Saints team that limped to a 1-6 start, but it all unraveled a bit against the Bucs, highlighted by a brutal pick-six and a lost fumble:

Shough, meanwhile, only attempted two regular-season passes before Sunday, both incompletions. He did record his first career completion against the Bucs, however.

It remains to be seen if the Saints now have a quarterback controversy on their hands, or if Moore's decision to bench Rattler was more of a one-off attempt to provide a spark for his laboring offense.

It will be an interesting week in New Orleans, with a tough matchup against the Los Angeles Rams looming in Week 9.