Kellen Moore walked into Sunday with plenty riding on how the Saints would look against the Browns, and for most of the afternoon, the offense didn’t do much to calm anybody down. But the final stretch changed the conversation. Those last two offensive drives gave New Orleans the kind of finish it had been missing, and they may have bought Moore more breathing room than the rest of the game threatened to take away.
That’s the strange part of this one: the Saints were frustrating for long stretches, but not hopeless from start to finish. They had chances to build something early and repeatedly came away empty.
A fast-moving first drive with Audric Estime ended in a field goal. A Jordyn Tyson fumble inside the 5 came right after a Barion Brown bomb.
Charlie Smyth also missed an early kick. The result was a game that kept slipping away in small pieces.
By the time the score reached the two-minute warning, the Saints were still staring at the same old problem - an offense that couldn’t finish. And if they had gone into that late push with even 15 points instead of 9, the whole mood around the game would have looked different. It still wouldn’t have been clean, but it would have felt less stuck.
Instead, New Orleans spent most of the day looking like a team that might need a coaching change before the week was over. Without the late surge - and maybe without the Browns failing on a two-point conversion - the Saints could have been heading into this week with an interim head coach. Gayle Benson, though, doesn’t seem eager to make any coaching decisions before the end of the season at least, and Moore’s late response probably helped keep that door closed.
The offense did finally wake up when it mattered most. The Saints rediscovered the run game and started finishing drives, something they had done far too little of all year.
They piled up 32 rushing yards on the first three plays of the game, then later added 45 yards on one overtime drive. That accounted for 77 of their 160 rushing yards on just a handful of snaps and two possessions.
Shough also found big plays to Olave and Juwan Johnson on those final two drives, and the offense suddenly looked alive. It wasn’t just about surviving the finish.
It was about showing some answers after the bye week, and for the first time in a while, the Saints looked like they had them. The last 10 minutes didn’t erase the rest of the game, but they did enough to give Moore a little more time and a little more optimism in the front office.
In Other News...
Saints Rookie Christen Miller Faces Another Brutal Setback
Christen Millers rookie season has been defined by stop-and-start frustration, and Thursday brought another hit to his momentum. The Saints defensive lineman did not practice after hurting his knee in Wednesdays session, adding another injury note to a year in which he has already been limited by multiple setbacks since being drafted.
The timing is especially tough for a player who has managed only four games this season and has seen his snaps kept to a minimum when he has been available. New Orleans also had running back C.J. Donaldson and center Erik McCoy sidelined from practice because of injuries, while Alvin Kamara returned after a planned day off, leaving the Saints with a few more health questions to monitor as the week moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Saints May Be Getting A Crucial Boost At The Perfect Time
A much-needed piece of backfield help may be on the way at exactly the right moment for New Orleans. The Saints announced that running back Travis Etienne Jr. has returned to practice after spending time on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, a sign that his recovery is moving in the right direction as the team turns its attention to a pivotal matchup with Carolina.
Etienne last played in Week 3 of the 2026 season, and his absence has left the Saints waiting for a spark in the run game. He has yet to score a touchdown this year, but his return to the field at least opens the door to a possible comeback against the Panthers, giving New Orleans a timely boost if he is cleared to suit up. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Make Risky O-Line Pivot With McCoy Out
Erik McCoys biceps injury has forced the Saints into a different kind of shuffle up front, with Cesar Ruiz set to take over at center for the upcoming game. Ruiz had spent training camp getting work there as a contingency plan, so this is not a blind leap, but it does mark a noticeable change from the way New Orleans handled similar situations before and from the approach it used last season.
Jeremiah Wright will slide into the starting lineup at right guard because of Ruizs move, giving the Saints a reshaped interior in a game where communication and cohesion will matter as much as talent. For an offensive line that has already had to think on its feet, the question now is how smoothly the new alignment holds together once the ball is snapped. [Read more 🡒]