The Saints walked out of Detroit with a loss, but they also walked out with proof they can still drag themselves back into a game that looked lost. New Orleans fell 31-30 in overtime after erasing a 21-point deficit, then came up empty on a two-point try that would have completed the comeback.
It was a rough first half for the Saints, who trailed 7-0 at the break before two turnovers opened the door for Detroit to push the margin to 21-0. From there, New Orleans finally found a spark. Kendre Miller punched in an eight-yard touchdown run, and Tyler Shough hit Devaughn Vele for a one-yard score with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
That surge mattered because it changed the feel of the game. Instead of letting the night unravel, the Saints gave themselves a chance to keep punching back.
They kept doing it in the fourth quarter. Daniel Carlson’s field goal cut the lead to 21-17, and after Detroit answered with three points, Shough kept the pressure on by finding Chris Olave for 43 yards and then Juwan Johnson for a nine-yard touchdown to tie the game with 1:07 left. The defense forced a punt after that, and Carlson later missed a 62-yard field-goal attempt before overtime.
Once the game reached the extra period, Detroit struck first. Shough answered with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant, but the two-point conversion try to Bryce Lance fell incomplete, ending the comeback one play short.
Shough finished with 410 passing yards and three touchdowns, though he also had three turnovers. Olave was everywhere, catching 10 passes for 182 yards.
There will be plenty of debate about the final decision to go for two. But the bigger story is the climb the Saints made to get there. They gave themselves a mountain to scale, then nearly scaled it anyway.
In Other News...
Jordan Pooles Pelicans Role Suddenly Looks A Lot More Fragile
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Poole still has the shot-making and off-the-dribble flair that can change a game in a hurry, but his defensive limitations make the margin thin under coach Jamahl Mosley. In a rotation where fit matters as much as talent, that creates a tricky spot for a player who needs the ball and needs the right circumstances to stay on the floor. The Pelicans do not have to rush any decision, but the shape of the roster suggests Poole may have to prove he belongs in the mix before anyone starts calling him a fixture. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Still Have One Back-End Roster Spot Worth Watching
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With 21 players under contract and one two-way spot still open, the back end of the roster remains worth monitoring as camp approaches. Shumate is part of that conversation now, and his return suggests the Pelicans are still sorting through how they want to use their final opportunities before the roster picture gets set. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Year 2 Pressure Is Building For Jeremiah Fears And Derik Queen
Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen are entering the kind of second season that tends to shape how a franchise talks about its young core for years. For the Pelicans, the comparison point is unavoidable because the bar in New Orleans has long been set by stars like Chris Paul and Anthony Davis, but the more useful question is not whether Fears or Queen can mirror that kind of trajectory right away. It is how much real, believable progress they can make while handling different roles and carrying different parts of the offense and defense.
The expectation around both players is less about chasing legend-level production and more about proving the growth is real by the end of the year. Fears and Queen do not need to become the next Paul or Davis to matter to this team, but the Pelicans do need to see cleaner decision-making, stronger command of their individual skills, and signs that each can keep building toward something bigger. The pressure is already there because that is how New Orleans measures young talent, and this season should say plenty about how steep the climb still is. [Read more 🡒]