The New Orleans Saints needed a finish they could trust. Tyler Shough helped deliver one Sunday in Baltimore.
Shough completed 27 of 34 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, then scored the decisive one-yard rushing touchdown with 1:28 remaining as the Saints beat the Ravens 24–17. New Orleans improved to 1–1 after overcoming a 14–3 deficit.
The winning run will get the attention. The more useful takeaway for the Saints is how their quarterback helped create that opportunity. Shough kept possessions alive and gave his receivers chances to move the offense forward when the game was still available to either team.
The throw that set up the finish
Facing third-and-8 on the final touchdown drive, Shough found Juwan Johnson for a 26-yard catch-and-run to Baltimore’s four-yard line. Four plays later, Shough reached the end zone on fourth-and-goal. The touchdown call stood after review.
Johnson’s play deserves a prominent place in the story. The completion moved New Orleans beyond simply trying to keep the drive alive and into position to take the lead.
It also gave Kellen Moore a meaningful decision at the goal line. With the score tied and a touchdown available, the Saints trusted their offense to finish the possession. Shough rewarded that choice.
New Orleans converted eight of 15 third downs overall. That ability to extend drives gave the comeback room to develop.
Olave supplied the earlier breakthrough
Chris Olave finished with eight catches for 86 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter. Travis Etienne Jr. followed with the two-point conversion that tied the game at 17.
Those contributions matter when evaluating Shough’s afternoon. A quarterback needs dependable targets, and New Orleans received decisive plays from different parts of its offense.
Olave helped erase the deficit. Johnson helped create the winning opportunity. Shough connected those moments by getting the football to players who could turn a completion into a consequential gain.
That is a useful starting point for an offense still establishing what it can rely on each week.
Cleaner football kept the Saints in it
New Orleans finished without a turnover after committing three in its opener. The Saints also held Baltimore to three second-half points and outscored the Ravens 18–3 after halftime. Julian Blackmon’s interception ended Baltimore’s final possession.
That combination explains why the offense had time to recover from its early deficit. The defense limited the damage, and the offense avoided giving away possessions.
Shough’s performance belongs within that larger effort. New Orleans put enough complementary pieces together to make its late execution count.
The Saints have a performance worth building around: efficient passing, productive third downs and a quarterback who delivered when the scoring chances became decisive.
There is still work ahead. Falling behind by 11 points puts too much pressure on the rest of the afternoon. A stronger start would give this offense more room to operate.
The next opportunity comes against the Raiders in New Orleans’ home opener on September 27.
One comeback cannot establish a season’s direction. It can give the Saints specific examples of what winning football looks like for this group. On Sunday, Shough supplied several of them.
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