Jan. 8, 2026, 1:21 p.m. CT

It was an up and down 2025 NFL season for the New Orleans Saints, but one that ended with a ton of promise. Nowhere was this more true than on the offensive side. Kellen Moore took the reigns as a first time head coach last offseason after being one of the NFL’s most respected offensive coordinators. Moore wouldn’t wind up making a ton of offensive changes, but the ones he made were big. It didn’t pay off much at first, but the difference was noticeable by the end of the season.

Over the next few days, we’ll take a look at the Saints offensive and defensive statistical rankings from the 2025 season, starting with the overall offensive numbers now.

Saints 2025 Overall Total Offense18 points per game (28th)313.6 yards per game (23rd)313 first downs (22nd)24 turnovers (24th)39.5% third down percentage (18th)44.4% red zone percentage (32nd)

It was a tale of two different seasons for the New Orleans offense, based on both a quarterback change and development of Moore and his coaching staff. Over the first part of the year, Moore’s game plan designs and play-calling warranted open questioning and criticism. While there were still issues with each over the second part of the season, the difference was also noticeable. Some of that also had to do with who was under center for the Saints.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.

Spencer Rattler started the first eight games. Over that stretch, the Saints averaged just 13.9 points and 288.6 yards per game. Moore and New Orleans benched Rattler in favor of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough at halftime of a Week 8 loss to Tampa Bay. Shough was installed as starter in Week 9 and remained so for the rest of the year. After that, the improvement of the offensive production was exponential, though it was neither completely on Shough or entirely the fault of Rattler.

Over the last nine games, Shough helped guide the Saints to a 5-4 finish. In those nine outings, New Orleans averaged 19.8 points and 343.4 yards per contest. The Saints scored 20 or more offensive points once under Rattler, but did so in four of their last five games with Shough. The difference in quarterback play was clear, but Kellen Moore also appeared to open up his playbook a little more after the switch.

More than just the raw point and yardage increase, there were other obvious improvements. While the Saints still ranked as the league’s worst in red-zone efficiency, they were among the top-10 in the NFL in that category with Shough at quarterback. Their improvements were also evident on third downs under Shough, where they were routinely above a 50% conversion rate and were able to convert in several long yardage situations. Consider also that this was an offense that was without Alvin Kamara for the last seven games, Rashid Shaheed for the last eight, Devaughn Vele for the last three, and Chris Olave for the season finale.

New Orleans still has some crucial offensive issues to improve on before next season. Namely their excruciatingly slow starts and already mentioned red zone consistency along with the need to add more talent. However, this was a unit that showed improvements in many areas as the season progressed and has the all-important quarterback/coach combination lined up for continuing success.