The Saints came out of Week 1 with a loss, but they also showed they can take a punch and keep swinging.
That resilience will be tested again Sunday, when New Orleans stays on the road and heads to M&T Bank Stadium to face the Ravens after a 31-30 overtime defeat to the Detroit Lions. The margin was brutal, but the way the Saints got there told its own story. After trailing 21-0, they fought all the way back, forced overtime, and nearly stole one in Detroit.
Tyler Shough was right in the middle of it. In his first start of the season, he threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns, even with three turnovers attached to the stat line. Chris Olave was his top target all day, finishing with 10 catches for 182 yards.
That kind of production gives New Orleans something real to build on. It also comes with a warning label. Against Baltimore, the Saints can’t afford to give away possessions and expect to survive.
The Ravens opened with a statement of their own, rolling past the Indianapolis Colts 41-23 while racking up 506 yards of total offense. Lamar Jackson passed for 324 yards, and Derrick Henry powered the ground game with 144 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
That’s the kind of one-two punch that can bury a defense if it gets loose early. New Orleans did settle in after a shaky start against Detroit, but Baltimore brings a different kind of stress test. Jackson forces defenses to account for every inch of the field, and Henry gives them a punishing answer if they get too focused on the passing game.
There is at least one wrinkle to watch on the Ravens’ side. Zay Flowers, who posted 150 receiving yards in Week 1, left with a hamstring injury, and his status ????
For the Saints, the path is straightforward in theory and demanding in practice: Shough has to keep the aggressive throws coming without the turnovers that can flip a game in a hurry. The big-play ability was there against Detroit.
The comeback was there, too. What wasn’t there was clean enough football to make life easy on the road against a team like Baltimore.
Even so, the Saints showed enough to make this one feel competitive. They matched Detroit’s physicality after that early hole, and Shough and Olave proved they can stretch a defense. But the Ravens are a different level of problem, especially at home.
Prediction: Ravens 31 - Saints 27
New Orleans could still leave Baltimore at 0-2 and walk away with something more important than a win: proof that this group can go on the road, trade punches with one of the league’s better teams, and still look like a team headed in the right direction.
In Other News...
Saints Already Face A Draft Decision Fans Wont Love
The opening week of the NFL season already has the draft board tilting in a way Saints fans will recognize all too well. After one Sunday of games, New Orleans is projected to land the 19th overall pick, while the Cardinals sit at No. 32, a reminder that the first round is starting to take shape long before anyone is ready to think about April.
For the Saints, the conversation is less about where they pick than what they do with it, especially with an outside pass rush that still looks like a problem area. Alabama EDGE Yhonzae Pierre and LSU tight end TreyDez Green are among the names worth watching because they each fit a roster that has clear needs and a few moving parts, including the return of Cam Jordan and what that means for how New Orleans approaches the front seven. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Defense Has A Brandon Staley Twist Fans Need To Watch
The Saints used a noticeably different defensive look against the Lions, mixing in personnel changes that pointed to a broader plan than just one game. Cornerback Martin Emerson replaced starter Quincy Riley at one point, while linebacker Danny Stutsman rotated in for Pete Werner, giving New Orleans a chance to spread snaps around and see what it has behind the first unit.
Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley said the approach is about developing depth and letting capable players on the roster get real game experience. Emersons return was especially notable, since it was his first action since 2024 after recovering from a torn Achilles, and the way the Saints handled those rotations offered an early glimpse at how Staley wants to manage that side of the ball moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Saints QB Optimism Just Took A Hit From One Draft Take
The Saints quarterback picture is already drawing draft chatter, and one national college football voice is treating it like a problem that still needs solving. Pete Thamel included New Orleans among 10 NFL teams he believes should be tracking first-round quarterback prospects closely, a read that lands a little differently in a building that has also had reason to feel encouraged by Tyler Shoughs early promise.
That split is what makes the situation worth watching as the draft approaches. On one side is the idea that the Saints have seen enough to view Shough as part of the answer, not a reason to go hunting immediately. On the other is the broader league mindset that keeps pushing quarterback-needy teams toward the top of the board, and New Orleans now finds itself right in that debate. [Read more 🡒]