Tyler Shough won't be doing anything differently this week, but he's well aware of the extra emotion that goes into the Saints-Falcons rivalry, even with both teams struggling on the record line.
Cam Jordan has made sure of it.
"Cam, he’s probably said enough, he freaking hates them," the Saints rookie QB said, "and I’m obviously new to the rivalry but I can feel it. It feels a little bit different, for sure. It feels that way and I think that’s a good thing."
The Saints enter the game at 2-8, the Falcons with a 3-7 record. An ugly season for both organizations, but New Orleans would love nothing more than to pile on some more negativity for a team that traded away their 2026 first-round selection.
The rivalry has lost a bit of juice in recent years from the days of Matt Ryan and Drew Brees, where both teams frequently entered as playoff-bound or Super Bowl contenders. This year's edition also lost a bit of juice this week with the news that young Falcons QB Michael Penix would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Still, it's fitting that Shough's first start as the Saints QB is coming against Atlanta, and the game offers a chance for back-to-back wins over division rivals. The Saints defeated the Panthers 17-7 in Week 10, and Shough said he heard from fans throughout the bye week that taking down the Falcons next was all they cared about.
Related
Shough won't be changing anything in his prep in advance of the game, which is probably a good thing considering he's coming off a 282-yard, two-touchdown breakout performance that helped build positivity for a team that stumbled its way to a 1-8 start prior to that game.
"It fires you up, for sure, and ... like I said before, same process, but it means a little bit more," Shough said.
The Saints host the Falcons at 3:25 p.m. inside the Caesars Superdome. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.