The Saints had already gotten a gift from Baltimore’s side before kickoff, and they made sure Tyler Shough never forgot it.
Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver tried to pay the rookie quarterback a compliment by calling him a “poor man’s Josh Allen,” but New Orleans turned the “poor man” part into a running joke all week in practice. After the game, Shough said the coaches kept bringing it up, and it clearly stuck around as fuel.
Chris Olave heard the line too, and he made it plain after the win. He said Shough is “ one of one.” Olave then added, “by the end of this year, I feel like he's going to be one of the top quarterbacks.”
Shough backed that talk up on the field. In a Saints victory that featured another comeback after a slow start, he outdueled Lamar Jackson and helped New Orleans finish stronger than Baltimore when it mattered most.
That matters because Jackson does not often lose to NFC teams. According to the Times-Picayune’s Rod Walker, Sunday’s result was only the fourth time Jackson has lost to an NFC opponent as a starter. The others were Daniel Jones, Jalen Hurts and Jared Goff with the Lions.
That group gives Shough a little company, even if the comparison is still early. Jones, Hurts and Goff are the kind of names Shough is trying to grow into, and he’s now the only one of the four who also threw for more yards than Jackson in a win.
The matchup between two former Louisville quarterbacks didn’t exactly feel like a heavyweight fight in the moment, but it may look different later on. Shough has now been in the middle of back-to-back wins over quality opponents after slow starts, and those kinds of games are starting to put him on a bigger stage.
He didn’t have those chances at the end of last season. Now he’s using them.
And on Sunday, he was better than Jackson where it counted. Shough had the edge in passing yards and touchdowns, and that advantage held even when rushing stats were included. He was also sharper in the fourth quarter, which was the real separator.
Each team got two possessions in the final 15 minutes, not counting the kneel downs. New Orleans scored touchdowns on both of its drives.
Baltimore went three-and-out once and then threw an interception to finish the game. Shough was central to that late push.
He is not a better quarterback than Jackson. But on Sunday, he was the better quarterback. And on a day when Jackson still played well, that made Shough’s performance even more important in deciding the outcome.
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