The New Orleans Saints are now in the hands of Jake Haener ahead of Week 15. He becomes the third different starter this season for a team suddenly surging under interim head coach Darren Rizzi.
Haener gets a major task ahead of him. He earns his first live December start since the 2022 L.A. Bowl — during a time he starred for Fresno State. Furthermore, the 8-5 Washington Commanders come to town.
Many will believe Haener will walk into the Superdome wide-eyed since he gets his real regular season chance. Haener, though, fired off this message ahead of Sunday.
“Listen, I am going to be confident. I am going to let it rip,” Haener told reporters Friday, via the Saints' X page. “I've worked too hard to go in there with that mentality of ‘don't screw up.'”
Looking back at Jake Haener's production, even before Saints
Haener established himself as a huge Group of Five star in the Mountain West Conference.
He shredded defenses with 4,096 yards, 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2021. That production came when Kalen DeBoer served as his head coach. Haener delivered lesser production in 2022 — 2,896 yards, 20 touchdowns. But he suffered only three interceptions. He's best known among Fresno State fans for helping save its season. That Bulldogs team started 1-4, but won their last nine games including the MWC title and L.A. Bowl under former head coach Jeff Tedford.
Haener showed glimpses of his potential during the 2023 preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers. However, he suddenly became unavailable for the first six games after violating the league's substance abuse policy, with the ruling arriving on Sept. 6.
Now, he's leading the huddle in an actual NFL regular season setting after two years in the league. He's watched his Saints go from 2-7 and firing head coach Dennis Allen, to rolling to 3-1 under Rizzi.
Haener added he's been preparing for this moment as he watched Derek Carr and Spencer Rattler lead the offense before him.
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“I'm going to do everything I can,” Haener said. “This is a must win game. But if you look at it, we're 5-8. What do I have to lose? I might not get another opportunity to start a game again.”
Haener dropped another set of messages in breaking his silence about starting for the first time ever.
“I'm going to show everybody what I'm capable of doing. And let the guys know I'm confident in doing that,” Haener said. “You go and win this game, things can change. It's a 1-0 mentality. Beat the Commanders and show everyone what Jake Haener can do on Sunday.”
Haener and the Saints are 7.5-point underdogs against a Commanders team trying to stay in the postseason race. New Orleans, meanwhile, are still mathematically alive for the playoffs. The Saints are only two games behind the division leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
