The New Orleans Saints walked into Raymond James Stadium as 8.5-point underdogs despite their longstanding success in the shadow of the pirate ship.
They walked out with a 24-20 win after a rain-soaked game that featured a gritty performance by rookie Tyler Shough and a team that showed its still playing hard despite being eliminated from the playoffs, and it set off the Cajun Cannon for some much-needed positivity.
“You might say, well, look at Tampa Bay, oh, they’re gonna run away with the NFC South and how many times you heard me say this, this is pros versus pros," Hebert said in his postgame rant. "I mean, are you gonna come to play, do you take advantage of opportunities, mistakes. … This could’ve been, keep it fair, a 30-20, a double-digit win to the Saints. The Bucs are trending in the wrong direction.”
Hear Bobby Hebert's full postgame rant in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
The Saints flipped the script on a lot of things that have been major struggle points thise season, including an opening drive touchdown for the first time since Week 4. They also rolled up 139 yards on the ground, with the rushing attack spearheaded by Devin Neal, who had a career high 70 yards on 19 carries and his first career touchdown.
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But the day was owned by Tyler Shough, who found little success through the air in a game that featured driving rain throughout, but he found the endzone twice on runs, the first a 34-yard touchdown on QB keeper, the second a 13-yard TD on a scramble where he evaded two rushers before diving under a big hit for what would be the deciding touchdown. Shough's passing line was a pedestrian 13-20 for 144 yards and an interception, but he came up with big throws in big moments on a day when the conditions limited both teams' passing attacks significantly.
It was a day that sent Hebert away feeling like, if nothing else, the Saints have found the QB they can build around. With the win, Shough became the first Saints QB since Archie Manning to notch multiple wins in their rookie season.
"Shough can run, and again I say what college quarterback out there is better than Tyler Shough, there isn’t any that would give the Saints a chance to win,” Hebert continued. "Now, if Shough has the right supporting cast, I’m telling you, this could be — I don’t know about winning a championship, you want to win a championship — but be a winning team going to the postseason. I truly believe that."
The Saints will now return home to see if they can keep the good times rolling in front of the home crowd with a rematch against the Panthers. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.