It came down to a last-second field goal, but the fact remains that the New Orleans Saints took down the Carolina Panthers for the second time in 2025. Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough was a major contributor to the Black and Gold's second straight win.
It started out slow, with the Saints punting on their only two drives of the first quarter. However, the story started to change once the second quarter began. Shough completed all but one of his passes for 63 yards on the team's first drive of the second quarter, leading the team down to the red zone. Devin Neal finished off the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the year. What makes the drive even more impressive is the fact that it took over 11 minutes off the clock.
However, Shough really sealed things on his second-to-last drive of the afternoon, throwing a 12-yard dart to wide receiver Chris Olave for a game-tying score. His final drive of the game was just as impressive, as Shough would again lead the team down the field so that Charlie Smyth could kick a game-winning 47 yard field goal. By the time the final whistle blew, Shough had managed to complete 24 of his 32 pass attempts for 272 yards and a touchdown.
Saints, Tyler Shough wanted to show fans they can win at home
The Saints' win on Sunday over the Panthers was also Tyler Shough's first W in the Caesars Superdome. Following the game, he said it was huge to get his first win in New Orleans. "I think it was also personal for a lot of the guys. We felt like we had played well on the road, but we wanted to show the fans what we could do here as a team collectively," Shough said to the media. "It was just a lot of fun; I was proud of how everybody played throughout the whole game against a really good team."
When asked about his last two drives, Shough said that he and the offense were on the same page. "Everybody was clicking," the second-round draft pick said. "Just preparedness and operation is what was going through my head the whole time. Was proud of the whole offense to be able to sustain the drives... obviously we want to get in the end zone as much as we can, but it was a great finish."