4:01pm: Moore announced on Thursday afternoon that Rattler would start against the Broncos on Saturday, suggesting he has a slight edge in the race to be the Saints’ Week 1 starter under center.
3:29pm: Although the Browns and Colts began the week by settling their Week 1 starting quarterbacks, the Saints are not there yet. New Orleans’ starting quarterback competition between Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough will go on for another week.
Head coach Kellen Moore declined to name a starter going into the team’s third preseason game and said (via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell) that Rattler and Shough have been “really really close…going all the way back to the start of training camp.”
“I think both these guys are putting in tremendous effort, tremendous work,” added Moore.
The two young passers have put up improbably similar statistics across two preseason games. On 44 dropbacks, Rattler has completed 25 of his 35 attempts for 252 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Shough dropped back 40 times and completed 24 of his 35 attempts for 231 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Their efficiency markers are just as close, in terms of completion percentage (Rattler’s 71.4% to Shough’s 70.6%), yards per attempt (7.2 to 6.8), and passer rating (89.2 to 86.8).
Interestingly, PFF’s grades clearly favor Rattler (70.8 passing grade, 71.4 overall) to Shough (57.3, 56.8), though each was credited with two Big Time Throws and one Turnover Worthy play. Rattler did have a substantially higher average depth of target (8.3 to Shough’s 6.8) and a much lower pressure to sack rate (15.8% to Shough’s 30.8%).
The Saints, of course, will have their own method of choosing a starter. Saturday’s preseason finale against the Broncos will likely be a major factor.