Hill rallies Saints to 19-17 victory over Chargers

CARSON, Calif. — Taysom Hill has been the quintessential all-purpose player the past two seasons. On Sunday, he showed again what makes him such a valuable weapon for the New Orleans Saints.

Hill had 191 yards of offense and directed three second-half scoring drives to help the Saints rally for a 19-17 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

In a game where Philip Rivers and Drew Brees were sideline observers, Hill supplied most of the quarterback highlights. He was 11 of 15 for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for 55 yards.

With New Orleans trailing 17-3 at halftime, Hill felt the pressure was on him to produce.

“I felt like we needed some energy. And the thing I reiterated in the huddle was we’re going to have a chance to win this football game,” Hill said. “I know it’s a preseason game, but this is what it’s all about, and if we came here to not win then we’re wrong. So that was the objective.”

Hill threw a 27-yard TD pass to Austin Carr with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter to bring the Saints (1-1) to 17-10.

Hill then directed an 11-play, 69-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter that culminated in a 1-yard TD pass to Devine Ozigbo. The Saints went for 2, but Hill was sacked by Anthony Lanier II.

Following a Chargers punt, Hill drove the Saints into field goal range, where Will Lutz made a 28-yarder with 1:08 remaining.

“For three quarters I thought it was pretty complementary football. Then Taysom Hill took it over and they completely outplayed us,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said.

Hill has lined up at receiver, running back and tight end for the Saints since they signed him in 2017, but coach Sean Payton has been impressed with how Hill has looked at his natural position during training camp.

“I think he’s had a good camp and has progressed,” Payton said.