Dennis Allen said he has a good feeling about his quarterback room after the New Orleans Saints’ final preseason game on Sunday afternoon, a 30-27 loss to the Titans at Caesars Superdome.

Now it’s about establishing a pecking order behind starter Derek Carr.

Between veteran second-year player Jake Haener and freshman Spencer Rattler, another page has been added to the script. The final draft will be edited by the head coach and presented to the team in the near future.

On Sunday, with Haener and Rattler alternating quarters (Haener took the first and third, Rattler the second and fourth), Haener completed 8 of 17 passes for 87 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, plus a fumble after a sack, while Rattler completed 7 of 13 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, ran for 13 yards twice and led the offense to points on all four of its possessions – two touchdowns and two field goals.

Haener led the Saints to a field goal in the third quarter, a drive that nullified a touchdown pass due to a holding offense.

“I would say that Haener has taken a really big step forward in practice over the last 10 days,” Allen said. “I don’t think we saw that much of that in the game. Whether the reasons for that were the running routes, protections, misjudgments or whatever, we’ll go back and watch the video and evaluate what that was.”

“I thought Spencer did some good things. He seemed calm and composed, made some good throws, was able to extend some plays with his feet and get some first downs by running. I had a good feeling and feel good about the quarterback room as well.”

Allen said having two capable, young quarterbacks behind Carr is a plus.

“Working with these young quarterbacks and developing them is our job,” he said. “That’s what we have to do. So we have to figure out how to do that.”

Rattler’s performance was eye-catching on Sunday, starting with a perfect throw to receiver Equanimeous St. Brown just inside the right front pylon for a 21-yard touchdown on third-and-12 with 9:49 left in the second quarter. St. Brown kept the ball after a heavy hit.

“They directed the ball into the zone, the ball shouldn’t have gone there, but he ran a great route, I trusted him and threw it where I needed to put it,” Rattler said. “And he made a hell of a play. We learned to run the play, but when you have to go beyond Xs and Os, sometimes you have to improvise.”

It was one of three plays Rattler was involved in: the touchdown throw; a 43-yard pass to AT Perry that led to Jacob Kibodi’s 2-yard touchdown run that gave New Orleans a 27-23 lead with 6:26 left; and a 21-yard penalty for defensive pass interference on a throw intended for Perry that was part of a five-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Kibodi’s 11-yard touchdown run.

“I’m just going to do my best,” Rattler said. “I’m going to come out here and play well, play clean, protect the ball and lead our team to points. I’m going to control what I can. That’s not my decision, but I’m just going to do my best.”

Meanwhile, Haener’s four-point lead in the third quarter – Blake Grupe kicked a 38-yard field goal instead of a touchdown pass – proved to be the deciding factor on the scoreboard.

Another play could have made the difference and was probably the Saints’ most exciting play of the preseason.

With four seconds left in the first half, the Titans attempted a 58-yard field goal kick by Brayden Narveson. The kick went wide and short, and Saints receiver Samson Nacua caught the ball nine yards deep in the end zone.

He brought the ball out (time had expired), and a detour that began with Nacua running to the right hash line, then cutting back to the left sideline until he reached the center line, then cutting all the way back to the left sideline ended with his right foot being forced out of bounds at the 3 before he dunked into the end zone.

It may have been the longest goalless game in Saints preseason history.

“You can’t let an offensive lineman throw you out of the field,” Allen joked, with the tackle credited to Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya.

“It’s a play that’s very rare in our game, but when you really think about it, that’s why we take advantage of that situation,” Allen said, getting serious. “Because the coverage unit is generally made up of offensive linemen, sometimes there’s defensive linemen, tight ends – those are the type of players.”

“So there are more players with a lot of skill in the return team and it’s a space game. That’s not the game these guys normally play.”

The next big event for the Saints will be on Tuesday when the roster is reduced to 53.