NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In the New Orleans Saints' first two games under rookie coach Kellen Moore, they had a chance to win at home on their final possession — and came up short.
On Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, their last-ditch drive ended with a fourth down sack of Spencer Rattler in Saints territory, allowing the banged-up Niners to run out the final 57 seconds of their 26-21 victory.
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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) scores past San Francisco 49ers safety Jason Pinnock during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff (47) sacks New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) and forces a fumble, which was recovered by the Saints but the ball changed possesion on downs, during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) runs against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) is brought down by San Francisco 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown, right, before fumbling the ball, which was recovered by linebacker Fred Warner (54), during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
“We’re putting ourself in position to win games,” Moore said. “Ultimately, we have to take advantage of those opportunities.”
New Orleans came up short despite getting a career-best three touchdown passes from Rattler and 99 yards rushing from Alvin Kamara. Much as they did after a Week 1, 20-13 loss to Arizona, the Saints lamented a series of earlier miscues that had them playing from behind.
Rattler, who fell to 0-8 as a starter in his second NFL season, threw behind a wide-open Chris Olave near the goal line, and the ball glanced off the receiver's hands, on New Orleans' opening possession.
Blake Grupe then missed a 40-yard field goal after his errant 38-yarder against the Cardinals.
“That was a big play, big moment,” Rattler said. “Got to have that one back. Man we’re close though. We’re close. These games come down to the wire and you’ve got to do what winning teams do.”
After holding the 49ers without a first down to start the game, the Saints were on the verge of forcing another three-and-out when cornerback Isaac Yiadom drew an interference penalty on an incomplete pass.
San Francisco quarterback Mac Jones turned that penalty into an 80-yard touchdown drive for a 6-0 lead, keeping the drive alive with a 15-yard completion to Ricky Pearsall on third-and-14.
The 49ers converted eight of 15 third downs, including a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Christian McCaffrey on third-and-5 with 7 seconds left in the first half after New Orleans pulled to 9-7.
Defensively, “we’re doing too much good on first and second down to put yourself in those situations, and it’s happened two weeks in a row,” Moore said. “These third-and-10-plussers, we’re giving up way too much.”
San Francisco took advantage of another mistake in the third quarter after Rattler’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed cut the deficit to 16-14. The 49ers extended their lead to 19-14 on their next possession, but the Saints were in field-goal range when linebacker Fred Warner forced Kamara's fumble after the running back's short reception.
Kamara initially was ruled down before the ball came loose, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan challenged the call and got a reversal that ended another promising New Orleans drive.
Soon after, Jones capitalized with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings.
Rattler's short scoring pass to Devaughn Vele with 6:18 left gave the Saints a chance to come back, but New Orleans could not take advantage of two defensive stops after that.
“We got a lot to build on,” said Rattler, who threw for more than one score in a game for the first time.
“We’re not flinching. I would not say the vibes are down at all. We got a lot ahead of us.”
That includes daunting trips to Seattle and Buffalo in the next two weeks.
“I like the way guys are emptying the tank,” linebacker Demario Davis said. “I like how guys are showing up and preparing. It’s just tightening up and few things. It’s just finding those one or two plays. The fight is there. The intensity is there.”
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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) scores past San Francisco 49ers safety Jason Pinnock during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff (47) sacks New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) and forces a fumble, which was recovered by the Saints but the ball changed possesion on downs, during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) runs against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) is brought down by San Francisco 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown, right, before fumbling the ball, which was recovered by linebacker Fred Warner (54), during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party.
As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1,100 local council seats across England, lost control of several local authorities it had held for decades and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained over 1,300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.
It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.
Here are five things we’ve learned from the elections.
Starmer insisted he would not walk away and "plunge the country into chaos,” and the dire election results did not produce an immediate challenge to his leadership.
"The right thing to do is rebuild and show the path forward,” Starmer said Saturday. “That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”
Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues expressed support, and none of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers has made a move. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are keeping quiet for now.
But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure this year. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.
“There has to be a timetable,” legislator Clive Betts told the BBC. Another lawmaker, Tony Vaughan, said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership.”
Starmer tried to demonstrate change on Saturday by bringing back two figures from past Labour governments. He made former Prime Minister Gordon Brown a special envoy on global finance, and appointed the party's ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman an adviser on women and girls.
Starmer is due to make a speech on Monday in an attempt to regain momentum, before the government sets out its legislative plans on Wednesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.
The elections were a breakthrough for Reform UK, the latest hard-right party led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage.
Running on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, the party won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades. It also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London, and increased its vote share in Wales and Scotland, new terrain for the party.
Farage said the results marked a “historic change in British politics.” He said he's confident that “voters who have come to us are not doing it as a short-term protest.”
Reform UK currently holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and it’s unclear whether it could repeat its success in a national election.
The elections produced semiautonomous administrations in Scotland and Wales led by parties devoted to independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom — though neither has that policy on the front burner.
The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, won another term but fell short of a majority, meaning an independence referendum is unlikely. Labour and Reform tied in a distant second place.
Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) won the most seats in the Cardiff-based legislature, the Senedd. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government. Reform came second and Labour a distant third in one of its most historic heartlands, with outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat.
The economy lies at the heart of Labour’s troubles, as it does for many incumbent governments.
Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule roiled by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, Labour has struggled to ease the cost of living and jump-start a sluggish economy against the tough economic backdrop of war in Ukraine and, more recently, Iran. Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.
Some in Labour say the government's achievements, including protections for renters and a higher minimum wage, are going unnoticed. Many blame Starmer, an uninspiring leader distracted by scandals including his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
But Stephen Houghton, the outgoing leader of Barnsley council in northern England, where Labour lost to Reform, said the problem “goes deeper than the prime minister.”
“This has been coming for 30 years around the country, in post-industrial communities, coastal communities, that have been left behind,” he said. “You can change prime ministers all day long. If you don’t change policy, it’s not going to change.”
The results reflect a fragmentation of U.K. politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservative Party, which also suffered major losses on Thursday.
The elections offered voters a rainbow of choices, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.
But the big winners were populist insurgents, Reform UK and the Green Party, whose focus has expanded from the environment to social justice and the Palestinian cause under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens won hundreds of council seats from Labour in urban centers and university towns and took control of several local authorities.
Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the results suggest the next national election, due by 2029, won’t produce a majority for any party.
“So then you’re in the world of, after the election, two or three big minority parties trying to work out how they would govern,” he said — something traditionally considered “very un-British.”
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with some of the newly elected SNP MSPs in Edinburgh, Saturday May 9, 2026, following the 2026 Holyrood elections. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
Observers from the Scottish National Party (SNP) watch as votes are counted for the 2026 Holyrood elections, at Dewars Centre in Perth, Scotland, Friday May 8, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Friday May 8, 2026, in Essex, England, following the 2026 local election results. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
