The New Orleans Saints are headed out west hoping their fortunes can change along with the quarterback.
The Saints (1-7) are turning to Tyler Shough against one of their more imposing teams left on their schedule in the Rams (5-2). What could go wrong?
THE GAME | Saints (1-7) at Rams (5-2)
- When: 3:05 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 2
- Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Series history: Rams lead 45-35
- Last meeting: 2024, Rams 21, Saints 14
- Betting: Rams -14; over/under 43.5
- TV: FOX
- Listen: WWL AM-870; FM-105.3 & the Audacy app
- Pregame: First Take with Steve Geller & Charlie Long, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; Countdown to Kickoff with Steve Geller & Bobby Hebert, 1-3 p.m.
With all that in mind, here are the top three things I'm watching, and some lagniappe, ahead of the Week 9 showdown at SoFi.
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Shough O'Clough
The Saints are hoping for a spark, a jumsptart, a change in fortunes as they turn, officially, to their rookie QB. We saw it firsthand with this season with the New York Giants and Jaxson Dart. Even in a losing effort, that was a group that looked reinvigorated and capable of winning games behind their new signal-caller.
Can the Saints rookie do the same thing to change the vibes of a 2025 seasons that's rapidly slipping into thoughts of 2026. We'll begin to get that question with the Rams in a decision that somewhat mirrors the Giants' decision to turn to Dart ahead of a difficult matchup with the L.A. Chargers. Dart went out and led his team to a win in his first career start.
For Shough to match that feat, he'd have to do so on the road against a Rams team coming off a bye and arguably playing the best football of anyone this season. He'd also become the first Saints QB to win their rookie debut since Dave Wilson in 1980.
“It’s the NFL, there’s no soft landing for anyone in this league," Moore said. "Every game is a battle, every team has challenges, every team has really talented players.”
Some more than others, but he's right. And perhaps looking for a soft spot in the schedule to debut Shough would have been a mistake. That's because in this case he won't even have to lead the Saints to a win to improve the vibes and start the hype train, all he has to do is be competent and competitive. Can he move the ball consistently? Can ha navigate pressure from one of the most productive teams in the league in that category? Can he rally the troops and keep pace with a potent Rams offense?
If we see a team that looks like it believes it can move the ball and win a game, that'll be a step in the right direction. Losing that over the past two weeks is what lost Spencer Rattler the job more than anything. It was there early in the season despite close losses, the Saints need to get it back.
Things will look and sound different, of course. Alvin Kamara spoke to that this week when he humorously detailed the differences between Shough and Rattler in the huddle and in play-calling. Everyone is different and there's a lot that the rookie will be seeing for the first time. Mistakes will happen, but it's a race to improve -- and ideally find wins in the process. In a lot of ways that vibe switch and belief is an intangible thing, but it's easy to identify when you see it.
"I feel like my mindset, whenever I’m playing the best is just attacking, feeling like I have nothing to lose as far as that, because I’m super blessed to be in this opportunity and I’ve learned a lot and I’m going to fail continually going forward, I’m going to make mistakes," Shough said. "I’m going to do everything I can to learn from those mistakes and then just have fun doing it, getting better, because at the end of the day this is the first time you’re going to be seeing some of these defenses, seeing some of these guys. The Rams are such a great team, so what a great opportunity … to go out there and just to let it rip.”
It's the right approach. Let's see what happens.
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Protect. The. Ball.
After six weeks of being one of the best teams in the NFL in terms of protecting the football and giving it away just four times ... they've given it away four times in each of the past two weeks.
If all you knew about the games against the Bears and Bucs was that fact alone you wouldn't have to ask whether they won or lost those games. The Saints are not the type of team, and particularly offense, that can overcome those types of negatives. And there's no one culprit for the issues.
Yes, the change at QB does address it in some respect. Rattler threw four interceptions, including a back-breaking pick-six, and had the ball punched out on scrambles during the opening drive of both games. It'll be on Shough to do better.
But I'm more concerned with the frequency at which balls were getting punched out in the loss to the Bucs, with the Tampa defenders looking extra aggressive at going after the ball. Alvin Kamara had a near fumble but he was ruled down. Rashid Shaheed had the ball punched out twice, one time for an interception and another that was ruled an incomplete pass. Chris Olave didn't have the ball punched out, but he did fumble away a potential third down conversion that fell into the waiting arms of Antoine Winfield for a turnover.
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As multiple people have told me in the locker room this week. The problem is twofold, because for one thing, it's simply bad football. And for another, there's now blood in the water for opposing defenses that are always looking to identify turnover-prone players and target them. The Saints have several of those now.
“Guys got to fix it," Kamara told me. "I think that ball sometimes, it’s more of a pride thing than anything, just holding onto the ball. ... I play running back, so if there was a secret to holding onto it, like, it wouldn’t be a secret, because I would tell everybody. It’s not really a secret, you’ve got to hold onto it.”
Sounds simply enough, and the Saints have been elite at that for much of this season. That's a big element that allowed them to stay in games and have chances in the 4th quarter. They'll need to get back to giveaway free football to have any hope of upsetting the Rams this week.
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Can you tackle Puka?
If you wanted a few stats to illustrate just how efficient and effective the Rams offense has been to this stage, these should do the trick:
- Average time to throw: 2.69 seconds (6th fastest)
- Passing TDs: 17 (1st)
- Explosive pass plays: 30 (1st)
- Pass yards per play: 7.1 (6th most)
- Pass yards per game: 256.7 (3rd most)
- Pressure rate allowed: 28.9% (5th lowest)
The most explosive passing offense in the NFL is run by a quarterback that is getting the ball out of his hands as fast as anybody. For perspective, the Saints have an even faster average time to throw (2.65), but that's yielded arguably the least explosive attack in the NFL. The Saints have generated just 13 pass plays of 20-plus yards this season, the lowest in the league, and their 5.2 yards per pass play ranks 28th.
The player that concerns me the most is Puka Nacua, a player that has simply torched the Saints since he's entered the league. In two games against New Orleans he's piled up 14 catches for 220 yards and 2 TDs. Of those yards, 100 came after the catch and he accounted for 12 first downs in those two games.
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The Saints have a pair of young cornerbacks on the outside, and I wouldn't describe either as being extra aggressive, physical players. They'll need to be to wrestle with Puka for 60 minutes, who plays a lot more like a running back after the catch than a wide receiver. I'd expect to see that task fall to Kool-Aid McKinstry more often than not, who has had some really impressive performances over the past month.
If the Saints can corral Puka (54 catches for 616 yards and 2 TDs) they'll still have to contend with Davante Adams (31 catches for 431 yards and 6 TDs) on the other side, but one problem at a time. There are other weapons to watch, but no one else on L.A.'s roster currently has more than 166 receiving yards. I think the Saints need to take away Puka as much as possible to give themselves a chance in this game, and that's a lot easier said than done.
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LAGNIAPPE
It's the trade deadline on Tuesday and the Saints player with the most buzz is Rashid Shaheed, who has been listed as questionable going into the matchup with a hip injury suffered against the Bucs. The injury is real but he practiced all three days this week. If he ends up inactive, that'll feel like a pretty clear sign that the team intends to trade the speedster WR. ... The Saints have been remarkably efficient in goal-to-go situations this year, which was highlighted on two separate goal line stands that accounted for 8 plays inside the 1-yard line before the Bucs finally inched the ball into the end zone on 4th down. In all the Saints have faced 26 snaps in goal-to-go situations and allowed 8 touchdowns. Of the teams that have faced at least 26 snaps in those situations, only the Chargers (6 TDs allowed), Seahawks (7) and Bills (8) have matched the Saints in terms efficiency. Team leaders will tell you that's as big a sign as any that this defense is still playing with pride despite the record, and I'd tend to agree. ... The Saints offense has gone no-huddle 23.8% of the time this season, the 2nd-highest percentage in the league. It'll be interesting to see if that changes with Shough at the helm. ... Blake Grupe watch is still in effect, because it's tough to say whether the winds have officially turned for him. On the one hand he's 15-21 on the season (71.4%) which is tied for 2nd to last among kickers with at least 10 attempts, but he's also made 5-of-6 kicks (83%) over his past three games, the lone miss being from 50-plus on a windy day in Chicago. A few more clean weeks and people will stop talking about his job security, but he has to keep delivering, particularly in controlled environments like SoFi. ... The Saints really need to commit to the run in this game to have a chance, and the Rams have been middle of the pack in stopping it. Their stuff percentage of 13.7% is 30th in the NFL. They also run looks with a light box (6 or fewer defenders at or near the line of scrimmage) nearly 48% of the time, the 6th highest percentage in the NFL. If the Saints can block it, they can run it. ... The Saints have two running backs on the practice squad, but the only gameday elevation was LB Eku Leota. That means for the second consecutive week the Saints will go into the game with only two active running backs in Kamara and rookie Devin Neal. Despite playing nearly 50% of the snaps last week Neal didn't register a carry. I expect that to change in Week 9.