By Ross Jackson
NEW ORLEANS, La. – After years of struggles and roller coaster types of seasons, the New Orleans Saints finally have light at the end of the tunnel.
With three wins in the last five games, the 4-10 Saints are rightfully riding the high of back-to-back divisional wins against better opponents. The team’s ability to manage adversity and win in imperfect conditions have impressed, and the biggest contributors to the club’s resiliency have been its young talents.
Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough looks to be the real deal. Kicker Charlie Smyth has run away with his late-season opportunity. Rookie running back Devin Neal has shown an ability to carry to the run game, and second-year receiver Devaughn Vele is making tough catches and helping the team’s passing offense come to life.
Additionally, wide receiver Chris Olave has shown up more consistently in clutch moments. Defensive end Chase Young played a major role taking over the dramatic victory against the Carolina Panthers on defense.
New Orleans has been looking for a shot in the arm, and it seems they have found it with a blend of a focused mentality and a stellar rookie class that arrived ready to go out of the box.
Shough now owns the Saints rookie franchise passing yards record and is one touchdown pass away from snagging the rookie passing touchdowns record as well. But more importantly, he’s shown a propensity to show up in the biggest moments of a game.
His poise, maturity and leadership have been evident with go-ahead scores and game-winning drives in each of the last two weeks. He also led the team to 17 unanswered points in his first career victory in Week 10 after going down to the Panthers 7-0.
Not only have the Saints begun to establish themselves as gamers and spoilers, they’ve begun to establish themselves as a threat.
Five years without a playoff appearance, nine starting quarterbacks and three head coaches after some of the most established talents and promising days of New Orleans Saints football later, and things finally appear to be looking up for the Saints under head coach Kellen Moore.
“I think ‘staying the course’ is the right phrase,” Shough said after the game. “Obviously settling in is a tough thing because there’s so much change throughout the year with different guys. I think the message you try and preach from [Ted Rath], our strength coach, with [Kellen Moore] is one, going through your process. … And then just going for it.
New Orleans has three games remaining on its schedule. The team will host the New York Jets next week for the final home game, a contest they should win. Then, the Saints will close out the season with two more winnable matchups against the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons.
With any number of wins down the stretch, the Saints have done something that their previous teams haven’t been able to do for multiple years. The team has given Saints fans reason to cheer, and most of all, reason to hope that the compass can finally start to point north after a few long and arduous years.