The New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers 17-7 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday.
The win was the Saints’ second of the season and snapped a four-game losing streak.
Here’s what we learned from the game:
Tyler Shough looked like QB1
In his second start since taking over for Spencer Rattler, Shough commanded the office with poise and command, while completing 19 of 27 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating was a nifty 128.9.
Most of all, he injected some much-needed juice into the passing attack by connecting with Chris Olave, Juwan Johnson and Alvin Kamara for big-play passes of 61, 52 and 26 yards, respectively. He added a 30-yard touchdown pass to Johnson in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed the outcome.
Shough also showed moxie. On the big completion to Johnson, he eluded pressure and kept his eyes downfield to find the tight end for a big gainer. He also avoided a safety by spiking the ball at the feet of Devin Neal after a blitzing Carolina defender came free on his pass rush. It won’t show up in the box score, but that was a big play, an example of quick thinking and smart decision-making.
The second-round draft pick from Louisville became the first Saints rookie quarterback to win a game in 44 years. The last rookie to do it was Dave Wilson in 1981.
The defense dominated
In their most dominant overall performance of the season, the Saints held the Panthers to season lows of 175 yards and 7 points. Carolina averaged just 3.5 yards a play and converted only 3 of 9 third downs.
The Saints held Bryce Young to 124 passing yards and shut down the Panthers’ vaunted running game, holding Carolina to 73 yards on 32 carries. They only surrendered one run of more than 10 yards, a 13-yarder by Rico Dowdle early in the game.
It was a total team effort, led by Demario Davis (seven tackles, pass defensed and an overturned interception) and Alontae Taylor (interception, pass defensed and tackle for loss).
The energy and effort were noticeable
The Saints entered the game with a four-game losing streak, and they looked and played like a desperate team.
After falling into an early 7-0 hole, the Saints played inspired football and stormed back to take a 10-7 halftime lead, only their second lead at the intermission this season.
The momentum carried over to the second half as the Saints dominated play on both sides of the ball and played with an energy and enthusiasm that evident in their body language.
The Saints were the hungrier team, and they played like it.