Throughout their 2-5 start to the 2026 NFL season, the New Orleans Saints have struggled to find consistency and efficiency on offense, while also having a hard time recapturing the defensive success the team had last season. All of those elements have led to putting a lot of pressure on starting quarterback Tyler Shough.
So much so that his teammates have even begun mentioning that fact in postgame interviews. Starting center and team captain Erik McCoy was one such teammate that supported his quarterback after the team’s recent 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Paris, France.
“I think Tyler’s a baller,” McCoy said. “I think he is the future of this franchise and I feel like we put a lot of pressure on him today. That’s not fair to him.”
Many believe Shough to be the future of the Saints’ franchise, but that belief in the talented passer can quickly be squandered if he continues to take excessive hits.
So far, Shough has been hit 28 times through the first seven games of the season, per Pro Football Focus, which ties him for the seventh-most of any NFL quarterback. He’s also been sacked 15 times, or 2.14 times per game, T-No. 8 in the league.
He reportedly has two broken bones in his left hand and took a shot to his throwing hand against Pittsburgh that also raised some concerns.
The amount of pressure that Shough is under comes down to three areas in particular. The dropbacks, the run game and the defense.
The Dropbacks
Shough has been asked to drop back 296 times through the season’s first seven games. That’s tied for the second-highest rate in the NFL behind only Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
His 273 passing attempts are tied for No. 3 in the NFL with Dallas Cowboys passer Dak Prescott.
Additionally, he’s run the ball 24 times, tied with Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams at No. 11 in the league among qualifying quarterbacks.
Each of those numbers have put Shough in a vulnerable position to be hit while trying to make plays, earn yards and find the end zone. A large part of the reason why New Orleans has had to turn to Shough playing so much “hero ball” is because of the team’s lack of ability, for the second consecutive season.
The Run Game
The Saints currently rank No. 24 in the NFL with only 171 rushing attempts so far. They’ve amassed just 86 rushing yards per game and average only 3.5 yards per carry.
In 2026, New Orleans has not found a way to help take pressure off of Shough by running the ball. In the loss to the Steelers, before McCoy’s astute comments, the team ran the ball 17 times for only 18 rushing yards. It was the franchise’s worst rushing output, in terms of yardage, since 1999.
Some of their rushing attempt count and even per-rush production could also be attributed to game situations.
The Saints have spent 4 hours, 46 minutes and 10 seconds of game time trailing this season, the most in the NFL per TruMedia. They eclipse the Tennessee Titans by almost 20 minutes. Approximately one hour of that time has been spent trailing by multiple scores.
When the team spends that much time having to play from behind, it’s hard to run the football. But even in situations when the team is ahead or tied, the run game hasn’t been inefficient. But the fault for the team’s time spent trailing doesn’t fall solely on the offense and the defense holds some responsibility as well.
The Defense
While some defenders, like edge rusher Chase Young and Carl Granderson, have had great starts to the season, the overall defense unit has taken some considerable steps back.
Paramount of which actually takes place, not just with the drop off in scoring defense, but the drop off of the team’s third-down defense.
Coupled with the team’s hapless rushing attack, that’s led to the team having to throw the ball which have contributed to quick possessions in key moments (see the fourth quarter against the New York Giants as the team struggled to hold a lead).
That’s led to the team having trouble getting off of the field on third down.
During Shough’s first seven starts in the NFL last year, the Saints’ defense has held opposing teams to just a 32.6 third down conversion rate. That was No. 3 in the NFL over that span. New Orleans has now flipped to the opposite side of that spectrum, allowing a 47.8% conversion rate to start the 2026 season which is No. 29 in the league.
The Saints’ defense is allowing 27.7 points per game (No. 27) and conversely the offense can’t run the football, inherently, the team will end up depending a lot on its potential franchise quarterback.
