Saints' Jake Haener: Benched early in loss Sunday

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Haener completed four of 10 passes for 49 yards and one interception during Sunday's 20-19 loss against Washington. He also rushed once for seven yards.

Haener was making his first career start in place of injured signal-caller Derek Carr, who suffered a concussion and hand fracture during last week's win over the Giants. However, the second-year quarterback struggled against the Commanders' middling defense and tossed an interception during the first half. This led New Orleans to bench Haener for rookie Spencer Rattler coming out of halftime. The Saints went on four scoring drives in the second half and came up just short on a last-second two-point conversion attempt that would have won the game. Rattler went 10-for-21 for 135 yards and a touchdown during the second half. Given each quarterback's performance Sunday, it's likely that Rattler get the start ahead of Haener for next week's contest against the Packers on Monday, Dec. 23.