Apparently, pressure brings out the best in Garrett Grayson.

The New Orleans Saints' rookie quarterback made his three best plays of the night while being swallowed up in the pocket during Thursday’s preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

The first time, Grayson took off running for an 8-yard gain on third-and-4.

Later, he delivered a beautiful 23-yard pass to Willie Snead, who made a terrific catch himself. Grayson couldn’t step up in the pocket because of pressure coming up the middle and actually pulled the ball down for a brief instant before flinging it down the field as he got hit from behind.

Last, but not least, Grayson showed great touch on a 19-yard pass to receiver Kyle Prater while throwing off his back foot on a third-and-2 play. The Saints scored a touchdown on the next snap.

"I definitely think I got better today," said Grayson, who also stressed that he made plenty of mistakes and throws he'd like to have back.

"Obviously the first game, the first couple plays, the jitters were obviously there," said Grayson, who completed 8 of 12 passes for 87 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions while playing the full fourth quarter. "But once we got going, got a little momentum, things started to slow down for me. I could see what the defense was doing, what kind of looks they were giving me, and I got to just kind of play football instead of thinking."

Grayson also ran two times for 15 yards and was sacked once (unavoidable on a free rush). His four drives resulted in a field goal, a punt, a touchdown and a failed Hail Mary. The TD was almost a game-winner, but Baltimore came back in the final minute.

Grayson missed on two downfield throws and had another batted down. But he consistently showed good poise in the pocket.

I still don't expect him to seriously contend for the Saints’ backup job, which is a tight battle between Luke McCown and Ryan Griffin. But Thursday’s performance was a good sign of progress for the third-round pick out of Colorado State, who has been fighting through the ups and downs so far in camp.

"I think the two younger quarterbacks handled themselves pretty well. Both him and Ryan," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "They got a lot of snaps. They moved the ball, and I felt they made good decisions.

"The first thing that happens with a young quarterback is it's just happening quicker. The play clock is quicker, on and off, in and out, up and down. It has to pick up quicker. I thought both of those guys handled it pretty well."