The New Orleans Saints are familiar with strong emotions as they walk off the field at Bank of America Stadium.
The difference this time: All those emotions were positive after a 17-7 win that marked a major milestone for rookie QB Tyler Shough and skyhigh optimism of what the future could hold for him as Saints starting quarterback.
For perspective: Shough became the first Saints rookie quarterback to win a game in more than four decades, joining a list that most recently included Dave Wilson in 1981. He also set a rookie passing record in the process.
Not a bad way to head into the bye week, even for a 2-8 team.
With all that in mind here are my stock up and stock down players from Week 10 in Charlotte.
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STOCK UP
1. Third-down Shough
Isn't it amazing what a little positivity can do for a team, even a team that's still sitting at 2-8 and with a looong way to go before they'll be considered among the NFL's contenders again. But that destination feels a lot closer today than it has in years for one obvious reason: The Saints might have found their quarterback of the future.
When you can say that anything feels possible, and at least for a day, the Saints can say that about Tyler Shough.
It's really difficult to overstate just how impressive it was to see a rookie in his second NFL start consistently deliver in critical moments against a stout defense. Perhaps the extra time in college helped, perhaps it's the added maturity, perhaps it was the ability to sit and watch and learn before being thrown into the fire. Whatever it was, he certainly didn't look like a rookie out there, finishing the day 19-27 for 282 yards and 2 touchdowns. There were no turnovers and, at least to my eyes, no real at-risk throws.
But it was specifically his performance on money downs that drew my attention, and those are third and medium (and longer). Third and short is where you want to be, but delivering when the odds are stacked against you is what sets elite QBs apart from the rest.
Remember when the Saints started the season 1-for-27 in terms of converting on third and 7 or longer? Here's how they fared in third and long situations in Week 10:
- 3rd & 12: Shough deep left to Juwan Johnson, +52
- 3rd & 8: Shough deep right to Chris Olave, +62TD
- 3rd & 6: Shough middle to Devin Neal, +10
- 3rd & 7: holding (Radunz), -10; no play
- 3rd & 17: Shough short middle to Devaughn Vele, +15 (punt)
- 3rd & 12: Shough deep left to Johnson, +30TD
In five instances of 3rd & 6 or longer the Saints went 5-for-5 passing for 169 yards and two TDs. The lone failure to convert was a 3rd and 17 that came up 2 yards shy. That kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?
What made it even more impressive was Shough doing it behind a patchwork offensive line that featured backups at center, left guard and right tackle -- though Dillon Radunz and Luke Fortner will be in those spots the rest of the way. That group help up admirably, but there was plenty of pressure. That was definitely true on the first big play to Johnson, with Shough fighting out of a potential sack, sliding back across the field and finding his tight end for a long catch and run. Shough navigated pressure again on the 3rd and 6, buying time and getting the ball to Neal in a spot where he could convert.
The touchdown to Johnson was, again, on 3rd and 12, and the TE wasn't really a designed option on the play. He just found space after a defender fell down, Shough extended and found him with an accurate ball on the run. Johnson did the rest (which is becoming a theme). Playing with composure and throwing with accuracy can go a long way in this business, and that was the biggest change for this Saints offense on Sunday.
“Definitely was ... some really good moments there because of that [composure]," Kellen Moore said. "I thought playing in the pocket, stepping up, stepping up, finding the guys downfield. I thought there were some big-time opportunities there.”
Agreed. There will be more challenging days ahead for No. 6, but the first step was proving the road was there at all. Shough certainly did that. Now we go along for the ride.
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2. Big-play Olave
Prior to the season Chris Olave made it known to his WRs coach Keith Williams, and it was then made known to the head coach: Time for CO to be a deep threat again.
It's an area that Olave excelled in college but he'd seemed to have been mostly phased out of that part of the game with the Saints the past two seasons. It wasn't necessarily intentional, that's just what happens when a guy with "generational speed," as Olave calls it, is lining up across from you. The coaching staff took his request to heart and the results showed. We saw Olave haul in two 50-plus-yard passes already this season after failing to log any in 2023 or 2024.
Whether that success led the Saints to feeling like they could move on from Rashid Shaheed, that's what happened this week. It was a disappointing moment for Olave, who has been teammates with Shaheed since they entered the NFL together in 2022, but it also meant his runway is as clear as he's ever had it. He's now the premium downfield threat in the Saints offense, and that was quickly delivered upon in this game.
With the Saints facing third down and needing a spark in the second quarter, Olave beat Panthers star DB Jaycee Horn downfield and Shough found him in stride for a 62-yard touchdown that marked the longest of both players' careers. Olave also hauled in a one-handed grab for 14 yards later in the game for good measure.
"He kind of fooled me pre-snap. I thought [Horn] was in cover-2 and I kind of went outside, tried to outside release and it was man. … That’s what we wanted," Olave said. "I kind of got tight to the sideline, so I had to kind of battle him to catch the ball and he had fell so I knew it was a touchdown after that.”
It was a play that set the tone for the rest of the game, but also one that helped Olave settle in after battling significant anxiety in the buildup to it. The WR said he was fine throughout the week, but as he went out for warmups a lot of the emotions came rushing back surrounding what happened on the same field a year ago. Olave was taken off on a stretcher early in that with a significant head injury that ended his season and threatened his career. It was trauma that Olave is still navigating, and he relied on his teammates, coaches and his father -- who has been in attendance at all of the Saints' games this season -- to manage. He delivered with a 5-catch, 104 yard game that marked his first 100-yard performance since his rookie season.
"It was a tough situation from last year, it ended my season, so just coming back here, first time playing here again, I’m glad I had the performance I had," he said, "but I couldn’t do it without my teammates and my coaches and everybody around me.”
The first half of the season felt a bit uneven for Olave, who is looking to play himself into a big payday as he comes to the end of his rookie deal after next season. If Week 10 was any indication it sure looks like Chris Olave is having fun again, and even bigger days could be ahead.
Related
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3. Tone-setter DL
The Saints offense is going to get a lot of the attention, but I felt it was the defensive line that truly set the tone.
"I think the defensive line has always been the heart of the defense. ... You love to see the defense step up and make big plays," Cam Jordan said.
That was definitely the case in this game, and it was a group effort. Jordan had a sack for -9 yards. Nathan Shepherd had a sack for -13. Jonah Williams had a QB hurry. Shepherd and Jordan also had TFLs and Bryce Young was under fire all game.
But there was also run-stuffing, with the saints defensive line limiting Rico Dowdle to 53 yards on 18 attempts (2.9 yards per carry) after he'd averaged 130 yards per game over his past five. Alontae Taylor gets a lot of credit, too, getting into the backfield and making multiple big hits.
"We just kind of told ourself as a defense, like, hey, not one of us can go stop him, we've got to stop him as all 11," Shepherd said. "That's the only thing that we're gonna do to give us a chance and opportunity to try to do our best and control the line of scrimmage, to not give him easy plays to break free. So we just tried to keep him contained and just hope for the best there."
It was a group effort, and an impressive one. The Saints had 14 players log multiple tackles, and five players with five or more.
Honorable mention
The Saints need to run the ball effectively to support their young QB, and they did that today. It wasn't all perfect and there was a fair share of runs stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, but the commitment was there. It also helps when you get to play with a lead and run 67 plays. Either way, 105 yards split between Alvin Kamara and Devin Neal's 26 attempts. I'll take that any day of the week. ... Devaughn Vele didn't see the pass-catching results we all ultimately want to see, but he was in on nearly 100% of the offensive snaps and he showed up early and often as a blocker. He was also a few inches away from a chunk play in the fourth quarter. He finished with 1 catch for 15 yards on three targets, but if that's the type of usage he'll be getting, the receiving numbers won't be far behind. ... Alontae Taylor is a good football player and I really hope the Saints keep him around. He was all over the field in this one, finishing with five tackles and an interception, but I also appear his selfless play to clear out Jalen Coker on what ultimately was a Pete Werner fumble recovery. He's playing the right way. ... TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden made his Saints debut and was primarily used as a blocker, but he did have a 14-yard reception in the 4th quarter for a key first down that helped set up the key touchdown to Juwan Johnson. Gold star. ... The offensive line certainly had some rough moments, but they kept Shough clear enough in this game so I'll mention them here. Dillon Radunz and Asim Richards stepped in this week and proved that the Saints were right to trust them as depth pieces. ... There were zero injuries in this game, or at least ones that required treatment. The blue medical tent only went up once and it didn't appear injury-related. Any time I can say that after a game, that's a positive. We're more than halfway through the season so I feel comfortable pointing out that Ted Rath's system seems to be working for this team. There have been injuries, but injuries are inevitable in an NFL season. Availability has been a good ability for a lot of this team.
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STOCK DOWN
Costly mistakes
I don't know if this really qualifies for a stock down, but the fact that the Saints were able to survive some of the more painful mistakes/misfortune you'll see in an NFL game tells you just how roundly they defeated the Panthers.
On the opening drive, the Panthers lone scoring possession of the game, the Saints appeared to get off the field twice. The first came on a 3rd and 8 snap where Bryan Bresee jumped into the neutral zone. The Panthers picked up the ensuing 3rd and 3.
The next moment was on what appeared to be a Demario Davis interception, but it was negated due to Justin Reid catching Bryce Young in the facemask after the ball was thrown. Roughing, drive continues. The Panthers would go on to score on a short Dowdle run.
Later in the game it was a bizarre play when Shepherd blocked a kick, only for it to ricochet off a Panthers player's helmet and land beyond the line of scrimmage. Cam Jordan went to recover it, but missed, and Carolina ended up with the ball. Apparently that's adjudicated the same as a muffed punt, so instead of a massive moment for the Saints, the drive continued -- though football karma was on the Saints side as they recovered a fumble a few plays later.
On another drive in the 4th quarter the Saints got a stop on 3rd and 7, but wait, roughing on Demario Davis -- this one seemed a bit weak. First down, drive continues. Again the Saints came up with a takeaway a few plays later -- this time an Alontae Taylor interception.
"That's just defense and that's just football and the character we're trying to build, like, hey, where's the adversity going to come," Shepherd said. "We're not looking for an easy way out. There's going to be adversity, how are we going to respond to it? ... Whether it's a forced fumble, an interception, bad field position. We're not going to be able to choose what's going to happen in the game. We've just got to choose how we respond."
He's right. It's character-building and culture-building and the response to adversity is an important quality. Still, those are the types of plays that will get you beat in close games. What's frustrating is it was the elder statesmen, Jordan, Reid and Demario, at fault in those instances.
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Coach calls
Even in a game with a resounding win and positivity, it's hard not to be critical of some of the Kellen Moore decision-making on the whole.
One of those came after his first decision of the game, when the Saints decided to defer. I agreed with that decision after the Saints opted to take the ball first in the previous two games and failed to score in either first quarter. My gripe was when they decided which side of the field to defend, and they chose to have the wind at their back in the first and third quarters. It was a significant wind blowing directly from end zone to end zone. That choice meant that the Saints were playing into the wind in the second and fourth quarters and the Panthers had the wind at their back.
It's notable because the Saints had chances to attempt 50-plus-yard goals in both of those quarters and bypassed them -- smartly, in my opinion. But I'm also of the opinion that if you get the option, you should ALWAYS opt for the path that leaves you with the advantage at the end of the game. Giving that away was foolish, and if this game was closer it could've easily come back to bite them. I asked Moore about this postgame but was unable to gain much insight, it's likely the hope was that playing with the wind would help this team operate and get off to a fast start. They did score on their opening possession, but both touchdowns came when they were playing against the wind.
Related
There was also the decision to kick a field goal from the 2 yard line in the first quarter, something that modern analytics would fire you out of a cannon for even considering. What makes it all the more frustrating is that the Saints saw firsthand why going on 4th down in that situation is the call just a few weeks ago. The Saints got the goal line stand, but all winning meant was the opportunity to start a drive from the 1 yard line. The Bucs took advantage two plays later with a pick-6. You should never bypass that premium of a scoring opportunity, even with an offense that was desperate to put points on the board. It probably didn't help that your first three plays from the 1 netted -1 yard.
Blake Grupe leads the NFL with 7 field goals of 29 or fewer yards, with two coming from inside the 5 yard line. That's not a stat you want to be leading. In the end this probably comes off as nitpicky on a day where the Panthers offense put up zero points the rest of the way, but I feel strongly that it's the wrong approach in that situation and I hope it changes down the line.
There were also a few uninspiring calls on third down near midfield, which looked designed to create shorter 4th down plays. That did not deliver, particularly on a frustrating series prior to halftime that ended on a snap infraction with the Saints lined up to go for it. I like the aggressive decision-making there (particularly into the wind, as noted above) but some more creativity on third down would be welcomed.
Those are just a few examples, but I'm sure I could come up with more. I just come away too much of the time feeling like the head coach is coaching not to lose.
Where I will give Kellen a ton of credit is keeping this team's morale high, because that sure didn't look like a 1-8 team out there. You don't put out that type of performance if players are simply going through the motions, there's something to be said for that. Players will tell you the energy in the locker room is still high and much different from a year ago. Things are still being done the right way despite the record. We have to take that type of thing on faith, but that's the type of game that makes it a lot easier to do.
Regardless of how things go the rest of the way, my goal for the offseason would be for this team to bring in a game management czar to help with the in-game decision-making.
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QB Taysom
I'll start this by noting that the game-ending drive that churned the final 7-plus minutes of game time was quite a thing. Taysom Hill had runs of 4, 5, 2 and 5 yards, twice converting third downs to help ice the game. It was a wonderfully demoralizing way to finish off a division rival that had gotten a bit too high on themselves over a 5-4 start to the season.
The problem is that those weren't the only runs, and I felt like a majority of the Taysom QB sets only served to take away from the flow of the offense throughout the game. One was a 1-yard run on 2nd and 3. The Saints ended up punting. Another was a 1-yard run on 3rd and 2, with Kamara converting on 4th down.
The most productive plays in the game for him were an inside handoff where he lined up as the H back and converted a 4th and 1, and a handoff to Kamara.
I'm just not sure I'm seeing the juice from Taysom to make these sets worthwhile and I don't think it's benefitting the development of a young QB. We'll see how it goes the next few weeks, but I'm starting to wonder if it's time to phase the QB reps out and get him back into an H back role with an eye on the future.
A few more
Kai Kroeger punted well in this game for the most part, but he seems to have one shank per game and that's frustrating. This time it was a 26 yarder. He did pin two kicks inside the 15, but I'd really like to see more consistency. ... The goal line offense left a bit to be desired in this one. I'll have to look at the film to see what happened, but 3 plays from the 1 for -1 yards. Woof.