The New Orleans Saints were down seven to the Arizona Cardinals when Spencer Rattler delivered a perfect ball to tight end Juwan Johnson in the end zone. After snagging the ball out of the air with both hands, Johnson had the ball punched out of his grasp by a Cardinals defender before he could even hit the ground. If Johnson had secured the catch, the Saints would have been able to kick a PAT and force overtime, or go for two and win the game. Instead, the ball hit the ground, and New Orleans lost 20-13.
After the game, Rattler came to Johnson’s defense, and the tight end also stood in front of his locker and faced the music, answering the media’s questions about the play. The veteran tight end explained that every game has ups and downs, and all of the Saints’ downs would’ve been erased if he made the catch. However, he also acknowledged that any play throughout a game could be a game-changing play, but understands his moment will be emphasized since it happened at the end of the game.
In the end, Johnson says he just didn’t make the play, and the Saints have to move on to next week, not letting Week 1 define things.
Juwan Johnson on the potential game-tying TD pic.twitter.com/vHUlpS2bTV
— NOF (@nofnetwork) September 7, 2025
Juwan Johnson is focused on moving on after Saints loss to Cardinals
Saints fans probably won’t be happy with these comments from Johnson, but truthfully, there’s nothing he could say that would make fans feel better — only catching the ball would’ve changed the mood. But as Johnson emphasized, New Orleans has to move on.
Johnson knows how this goes. Fans will move on, but not immediately. Hope began to rise, and it felt like the Saints had completed the comeback until everyone saw the ball come loose.
While the veteran tight end’s day ended on a bad note, he had a pretty good performance, leading New Orleans with eight receptions for 76 yards. Unfortunately, all everyone will remember is the catch he didn’t make.