Rookie QB Tyler Shough ignites offense, while Saints defense dominates. New Orleans secures a dominant win, extending their impressive streak.
The New Orleans Saints have now won three games in a row as rookie quarterback Tyler Shough has recrafted this team into a very competitive one. Following two divisional wins over the past two weeks, the Saints entered Sunday’s matchup against the New York Jets as the more in-form team, and New Orleans played like it, pulling away late for a 29-6 win at the Superdome.
This one felt like a field goal game for a long time. At halftime it was 9-6 and the only points on the board came via kicks. The Jets grabbed the first lead at 3-0 after Nick Folk’s 29-yard field goal, which was set up by an opening-drive fumble from Taysom Hill. New Orleans responded with a Charlie Smyth 35-yarder, then Smyth added a 49-yarder to put the Saints up 6-3. The Jets tied it again at 6-6 on a 36-yard Folk kick, but the Saints strung together one more long drive before the break and Smyth’s 36-yard field goal sent New Orleans into halftime up three.
From there, it was all Saints. The third quarter wasn’t pretty, but New Orleans finally found the touchdown that separated the game. Backed up at their own 7-yard line, the Saints authored a 12-play, 93-yard march capped by a 23-yard touchdown strike from Shough to Chris Olave to make it 16-6. Given how well the Saints defense was playing, and the Jets offense’s inability to create anything consistent, it felt like the moment the game was effectively decided.
New Orleans left no doubt in the fourth. Smyth drilled a 50-yard field goal to push the lead to 19-6, then later added a 39-yarder to make it 22-6. The nail in the coffin came with 1:54 left when Olave got loose again, this time on a 38-yard touchdown from none other than Hill, who atoned for the early fumble with a couple of momentum plays down the stretch.
It was Shough’s best game of his young career: 32-of-49 for 308 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Olave was the star, torching the Jets for 10 catches, 148 yards and two scores in one of his best performances of the season. Juwan Johnson continued to be a steady presence as well, finishing with eight catches for 89 yards. And while the Saints didn’t cash red-zone trips into touchdowns early, Smyth’s five field goals (35, 36, 39, 49, 50) kept the scoreboard moving until the offense finally broke through.
The defense was the other headline. New Orleans outgained New York 412-171 and consistently won the line of scrimmage, piling up seven sacks and forcing late mistakes to choke off any chance of a Jets rally. There were ugly moments, and for stretches it looked like the Saints might drift back toward the version of this team from earlier in the season, but they pushed through it and turned the game into a comfortable win by the end.
Now the Saints head to the road to close the season against the Titans and Falcons, and with the way Shough has stabilized the offense and the defense is playing, there’s a real chance New Orleans finishes the year on a five-game winning streak.