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CARSON, California – The New Orleans Saints experienced contrasting halves in Sunday's 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The first half was full of errors and botched games, while the second half gave birth to an energetic team that fought for the match to end.
But as always, the pre-season does not concern the victory-defeat column. Instead, the month of August is an assessment process leading to the establishment of the initial list of 53 players.
Here are five areas that stood out:
BRIDGEWATER FIGHT
After a strong first season start a little over a week ago, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater likely wants to resume this game after an erratic performance. Bridgewater made several shots and finished the game by completing 5 of 12 passes for 40 yards and an interception for a 16th pass. Bridgewater also lost a fumble in an instant he did not seem to expect.
Bridgewater played most of the first half, so he had the opportunity to work out of the funk. Unfortunately, this never happened and he did not lead the Saints to a touchdown in two red zone trips before giving up his place to Hill before the end of the first half.
In contrast, Hill looked good by completing 11 of 15 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns for a score of 140.6. Hill also ran for 55 yards in four races.
ERRORS OF THE RED ZONE
If there's anything that drives a crazy attacking coach, it's mental errors in the red zone that lead to turnovers and Sean Payton is no different.
Payton's level of frustration had reached a boiling point after watching rookie Devine Ozigbo crumble into the Chargers' 10-yard line.
The Saints had already made another mistake in the 10-yard line when Bridgewater's pass was high in the Dwayne Washington carrier's run and in the waiting arms of Jaylen Watkins, the Chargers' security guard.
SINGLE STARTUP TEAM
Third-year defensive end Trey Hendrickson made his first-half start after taking the left-wing defense in place of Cameron Jordan, who was watching from the sideline for a second match. following the season.
Forget the scoring, reflecting only one tackle, as Hendrickson has been a disruptive force in the Chargers' field of play at least three times with a tremendous typing thrust.
The Saints need depth to the final defensive position behind the starters of Jordan and Marcus Davenport, and Hendrickson shows he is more than capable of relying on him if asked.
Outside of Hendrickson, the Saints watched defensive ends Wes Horton and Porter Gustin as the game progressed.
DEPTH TESTED
The Saints witnessed the fall of two offensive linemen on Sunday, while Chris Clark rode on a tank with his right leg in an overhead cast and Michael Ola was apparently injured at the end of the third quarter. Ola drew attention in the medical tent before going to the locker room on her own.
As Clark and Ola left the game and Terron Armstead did not play, the Saints faced Derrick Kelly, Patrick Omameh and Marshall Newhouse. Clark's injury could prompt the Saints to engage more offensive linemen for training.
BATTLE OF RETURNER INTERESTING
It's safe to say that the work of cornerback Marcus Sherels as a returner is not as safe as it was at the start of training camp.
On the one hand, Sherels has not practiced since the first pre-season game for unknown reasons. And secondly, rookie receiver Deonte Harris took advantage of Sherels' absence for another pre-season exit.
Harris is a pure explosion every time the ball is in his hands and he holds his breath when he raises the ball because it feels like breaking it. Harris had a 26-yard kickoff return and a 29-yard kickoff return.
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