The New Orleans Saints pulled off their second win of the season and the first win of Tyler Shough's career. In this game, he gave Saints fans every reason to be optimistic. Most importantly, Shough combatted the biggest obstacle from his scouting profile, poise under pressure.
Every Saints fan had their focus on their rookie quarterback. Shough was going into his second start, and the only thing we knew for sure is he would get a much better sample size than he got against the Los Angeles Rams. Shough saw more snaps, and he wasn't playing from behind in most of those snaps. Those factors made it possible to get a better evaluation of the rookie.
One thing we saw is Shough rising to the occasion in the face of pressure. You wouldn't be able to tell it was viewed as the Achilles' Heel for the rookie if you only judged Shough by what he did on Sunday. Shough dealt with and eluded pressure on multiple plays en route to his first NFL victory.
Tyler Shough's mobility was the story of the Saints offense
When you think about mobility, your mind will immediately drift towards a quarterback running the football. Shough didn't scramble to run, however. He only had four rushes, three of which were kneel downs. Most times Shough scrambled with his eyes downfield to throw. His mobility was best highlighted by his work in the pocket and making plays happen.
There are two plays that showcase this better than any other play, and both times Shough threw the ball to his former collegiate teammate, Juwan Johnson. Half a decade couldn't erase the chemistry built from their time at Oregon. When Shough began to improvise, he found his tight end for a touchdown and an additional long reception.
On the Saints' first offensive drive of the game, Shough shrugged off a Carolina defender then evaded two more defenders before finding Johnson nearly 20 yards down the field. That play turned into a 52 yard reception. It was a play that greatly showed Shough's poise, athleticism and improvisation skills.
The next time Shough hit Johnson was for a touchdown. Shough wasn't truly under pressure on this throw, but he did still display the traits mentioned above. A defensive tackle was beginning to get some push on the interior, but Shough spotted it and moved to his left, set his feet and delivered a strike to Johnson.