The New Orleans Saints’ first road game of the season will double as a homecoming of sorts for new coach Kellen Moore.
Moore, who grew up in Prosser, Wash., and the Saints (0-2) are heading to Seattle to face the Seahawks (1-1) on Sunday.
“It’ll be a lot of fun to be back up there,” Moore said. “It’s a really cool environment, really fun environment. There’s a lot of challenges with playing up there and the crowd noise. But it will be an awesome opportunity for our football team.”
The Saints opened the season with a pair of one-score defeats at home to Arizona (20-13) and San Francisco (26-21). They’ll get their third straight matchup with an NFC West opponent Sunday.
Last weekend’s loss to the 49ers wasn’t sealed until New Orleans’ Spencer Rattler was sacked on fourth down with 57 seconds left.
“We’re putting ourselves in position to win games,” said Moore, 37, who was the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles last season. “Ultimately, we have to take advantage of those opportunities.
“Through two games, we have a great group of guys that work their tail off. Their play style, you can’t take advantage there or assume those sorts of things. We’ve got everything we need, but we have to play cleaner football and we have to play and do what winning teams do in each and every moment. From the beginning of the game, all the way to the end, every play matters. We can’t take it for granted.”
Rattler threw for a career-high three touchdowns but still dropped to 0-8 as an NFL starter.
“Man, we’re close,” Rattler said. “These games come down to the wire and you’ve got to do what winning teams do.”
After losing their opener at home to San Francisco, the Seahawks rebounded with a 31-17 victory last weekend at Pittsburgh.
The Seahawks got their new-look offense on track, gaining 395 yards against the Steelers.
Sam Darnold threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns, while Kenneth Walker III rushed for 105 yards and a TD — his first 100-plus yard game on the ground since the 2024 season opener.
“This offense is designed to get everybody the ball,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “And I felt like it did that (Sunday). And we’re on our way on that front.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a game-high eight receptions for 103 yards and Cooper Kupp added seven catches for 90 yards, with tight end AJ Barner making a TD grab.
“We put ourselves in good positions on first and second down to get us into good third downs, third and manageable,” Darnold said. “And we converted a lot of those third downs.”
The Seahawks could be short-handed in the secondary, with safeties Nick Emmanwori (ankle) and Julian Love (hamstring) and cornerback Devon Witherspoon (knee) all missing practice time this week, as did running back Zach Charbonnet (foot). The Saints practiced without offensive linemen Taliese Fuaga (knee/back) and Dillon Radunz (toe) as well as defensive end Chase Young (calf).
