New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough played the hardest he could in his first NFL start, completing 15 of his 24 pass attempts for 176 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, all while facing pressure more than 25% of the time. He relied on speedy wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, targeting him the most, although it was his old college roommate Juwan Johnson, who's now a tight end, whom he connected with on the team's lone score over three points.
Well, the Saints are officially 1-8 on the season after falling to the Los Angeles Rams. The last time they pulled that off, Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States. You don't have to google that to know it was along time ago.
Following the loss, Shough said he felt really good, but that at the end of the day he wasn't good enough to get the Saints a win. Comfortable with the whole operation, he states that they have to be able to keep the chains moving. "We'll learn from this (loss)," he told the media. "We have to keep getting better."
Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough can't pull off a win in his first NFL start... but it's not all on him
Shough wasn't the reason that the Saints lost today. No, the loss isn't on one person. I'd like to say that it's on the entire team. The poor blocking and poor defense combined with a rookie quarterback making his first start in the NFL doesn't seem like a recipe that would end well in any scenario.
New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough failed to secure a win in his first NFL start. However, like I said before, not all of the blame should be put on his shoulders. The Saints' time of possession was shorter than an episode of any daytime television show: 16:07, which is also the 13th smallest in league history. So, as it really stands, Shough barely got a shot to show what he's made of; the defense couldn't do what they were paid to do: get the opponents off the field.
When he was on the field, he and the passing offense were pulling some dead weight around, putting things lightly. On Sunday afternoon, the run offense was completely ineffective. As a team, they only had 57 yards on the ground once the clock hit zero. The Saints' best rusher on the day wasn't even a running back; it was tight end Taysom Hill, who finished with 30 yards on four carries, more than the Saints' two top running backs (Alvin Kamara and Devin Neal, who finished with a combined 25 yards).
Heading into week 10, the Saints hold the number one pick in the draft. No matter how much Shough learns, if that fact remains by season's end, he might not have a starting job next fall.