With just over four minutes left on the clock, trailing 17-10, Tyler Shough emerged from the injury tent and stepped into the kind of moment that defines quarterbacks-especially young ones still trying to prove they belong. Starting from their own 9-yard line, Shough didn’t flinch.
He completed seven of eight passes, each one pushing the Saints closer to the end zone, each one with purpose. None of them were checkdowns-these were throws with intent, all going for at least nine yards.
Then came the payoff: a strike to Chris Olave for the game-tying touchdown. That connection was more than just six points-it was a statement. Shough had just engineered a clutch drive against a division rival, and the Saints weren’t done yet.
After the defense delivered a timely stop, Shough got the ball back and, once again, went to work. This time, the mission was to get into field-goal range.
And starting deep in their own territory, he did exactly that-methodically, confidently, like a quarterback who’s been in that moment before. The drive set up rookie kicker Charlie Smyth, the pride of Northern Ireland, for the game-winner as time expired.
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t perfect.
But it was gutsy. And it might just be the kind of performance that shifts the conversation in New Orleans.
Shough has now started six games, and while there have been ups and downs, this finish against Carolina might be his most telling moment yet. He’s shown flashes before, but this was a full-on clutch gene activation.
It's the kind of late-season surge that makes front offices think twice when draft boards start going up in the spring. If you’re the Saints, and you’ve got a young quarterback showing this kind of poise under pressure, do you still go all-in on a QB in the draft?
That question just got a lot more complicated.
And let’s not overlook Smyth, either. The rookie kicker stepped into a high-pressure moment and nailed it.
That’s two straight wins for New Orleans, and they’re heading into a stretch of games against the Jets, Titans, and Falcons-none of whom are exactly juggernauts right now. A five-game win streak to close the season?
It’s not out of the question.
Across the league, the Saints are starting to turn heads. After stumbling out of the gate with eight losses in their first nine games, they’ve now taken down both the Buccaneers and Panthers-teams that, despite their own inconsistencies, sit atop the NFC South standings. Momentum is real, and right now, New Orleans has it.
Sure, they’re likely out of the playoff picture, but that doesn’t mean this final stretch is meaningless. In fact, it might be the most important stretch of the season. Because what the Saints appear to be building isn’t just a few feel-good wins-it might be the foundation of something more sustainable.
Kellen Moore’s offense is starting to find its rhythm. And that final drive?
That wasn’t just play-calling brilliance, it was execution. The call for a quarterback draw, with Shough timing his slide to potentially draw contact, was savvy.
That’s high-level situational awareness from a young quarterback who’s still learning the ropes-but learning fast.
In a league where finding your quarterback and kicker can take years-sometimes decades-the Saints might have stumbled into both in the span of a few weeks. And that changes everything.