Most NFL games aren’t won because things go perfectly for one team. Instead, the measure of a winning team is often decided by which one can better manage imperfection.
For the New Orleans Saints, that’s not been a strength in the recent past. However, that could be changing with quarterback Tyler Shough now at the helm.
Shough finished his 2025 season with three game-winning drives over his nine starts, the most by any rookie in the NFL.
His efficiency at the ends of games completely changed the way that the late stages of contests felt. Saints fans had begun to tune out the ends of games over recent seasons due to the team’s lack of ability to stage a comeback.
Shough changed that.
The rookie passer also finished the year with a top-10 passer rating of 101.9 in the final two minutes of his starting opportunities. His 66.7% completion percentages tied for No. 6 among all quarterbacks in the league.
These are the kinds of promising metrics that have generated the much-warranted hype around Shough and the prospects of his future.
If he continues to be a strong endgame quarterback, he alone could be the difference between a few wins in a season. That could be the divide between missing the playoffs for a sixth straight season or making it back to the postseason after a long drought.
