Anytime you are losing a lot of games in the NFL, fans play the “devil you know vs. the devil you don’t” game when it comes to the quarterback position. In a dreadful outing against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, New Orleans Saints fans were asking whether Spencer Rattler would be replaced or not, and Kellen Moore wasted no time answering the question.
The short answer: No.
Moore spoke after the game and noted that switching QBs wasn’t even considered in the 14-26 loss to Chicago.
Saints didn’t consider pulling Spencer Rattler in ugly loss vs. Bears
Kellen Moore said that switching QBs wasn’t considered in this game. #Saints
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) October 19, 2025
It’s easy to understand why Saints fans would be wondering if this was an option. The Saints used a 2nd-round pick on Tyler Shough, who is not just a 2nd-round pick but one of the older rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. If ever there was a time to see the rookie out there, wouldn’t it be in a game where your starter has four turnovers?
It’s important that the Saints keep the long-term perspective in mind here. Obviously, Spencer Rattler has played well for a good chunk of this season, even if the Saints haven’t had team success. And right now, you almost have to wonder if team success is secondary to discovering the franchise quarterback of the future.
Games like this don’t exactly make the best case for Rattler, but you don’t want to make wholesale changes just for the sake of making a change. The Saints should justifiably feel like they might have something in Rattler.
Going into this week, some national pundits were wondering if Rattler should be given even more of a runway beyond just the 2025 season, much less getting pulled in a rough outing against a team like Chicago.
If Rattler has a couple more performances like this, you would at least be able to understand why the Saints might consider throwing Shough in the mix. But again, it comes back to the devil you know vs. the devil you don’t.
Any decision to bench Rattler would essentially feel like an admission by the organization that he doesn’t have franchise QB stuff, and we’ve seen plenty of evidence to the contrary of that at this point.
