NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Take One: Building a foundation
There are certain victories in a season that feel bigger where they become significant milestones in building the foundation of a winner.
Sunday against the Panthers was one of them for the Saints.
The Panthers outplayed the Saints for three quarters, but the black & gold came up big when they absolutely had to and rallied from ten points to not only win, but dampen Carolina’s division title hopes in the process.
That’s huge for a rookie head coach that’s finding his way through his first season in New Orleans. Though it’s taken some time, maybe Kellen Moore has truly found his footing as leader of this organization.
Take Two: Shough is the guy
Let there be no doubt after Sunday’s performance: Tyler Shough is the guy for the Saints.
His coaches believe it. His teammates believe it. Sunday was just the latest piece of evidence.
The offense wasn’t great against the Panthers, they were just great when they needed to be. and it was Shough leading the way.
Down ten near the end of the third quarter, Shough elevated even when many of the players he depended on around him left the game.
He smoothly marched the team 78 yards on seven plays and went 6/7 on his passes to tie up the score on a dime to Chris Olave where he threaded the needle flawlessly against Carolina’s top cornerback.
Then, with 57 seconds remaining and one timeout, Shough did it again hitting three of his first four passes to get his team in game-winning field goal range. On his final play, he fooled everyone with a quarterback draw that not only got them closer but also drew a 15-yard penalty.
Last week, when DeMario Davis said Shough had the ‘it’ factor, everyone took notice. On Sunday, Shough proved Davis right once again.
Take Three: The Irishman
Welcome to the show, Charlie Smyth. The Saints Irish kicker came through in the clutch with the first game-winner of his career.
Smyth went 2/2 on his field goals Sunday. None bigger than the 47-yarder he booted to win the game.
Moore said after the game they considered letting Smyth boom it from 66 but instead elected to run one more play to buy him a few more yards. A personal foul penalty gave him more than enough.
Smyth was on his way to being a teacher before he got the call to sign with the Saints a few years ago. At that time, it felt like a fun story to talk about but seemed unlikely that it would have any real football impact.
That has been proven wrong these last three weeks in a big way.
Take Four: Defense rallies
Early on, it felt like Carolina’s offense was dictating the terms of the game to the Saints defense. They won the line of scrimmage and consistently moved the chains on big downs.
That all changed as the fourth quarter began. They opened the quarter with a crucial fourth down stop in their own territory where the Panthers threatened to score.
When the Saints offense was stopped on downs the following drive, the defense responded with a quick 3 & out to give the offense the ball back to set up the game-tying drive.
When they need one more stop to give the offense a chance to win it, Chase Young got the only sack on Bryce Young in the game. Then, he tripped him up from behind on a 3rd down to force the punt.
All in all, like the rest of the team, the defense wasn’t great all game, but they were great when they needed to be.
Take Five: Other Observations
The Saints first touchdown drive went 17 plays, 95 yards and took 11:22 off the clock. Would have been interesting to see how the offense would have executed the spike had the Panthers not gotten that personal foul penalty. The play started with 12 seconds. Shough said afterward that 13 seconds is usually the cutoff in that situation. DeVaugh Vele made some tough catches over the middle for most of the game until he was injured in the second half. Vele has really turned a corner with Shough. They’ve built a good chemistry. Hopefully, he won’t be out too long so that chemistry can continue. Shough took some big hits Sunday and went to the injury tent twice. His toughness is evident, but hopefully he can avoid a few of those hits in the future. Lot of penalties on Sunday on both teams. While it’s true, the teams must be more disciplined, it’s also felt like a very flag-happy crew. With every penalty, it felt like there was long discussions between the officials before announcing the call.In addition to Vele, Devin Neal and Cesar Ruiz both exited early as well.
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