Biggest improvement Saints must show after bye week

By Ross Jackson

After an exciting and promising performance by the New Orleans Saints and rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, it’s easy to drink the Kool-Aid and buy into everything completely heel turning for the team in terms of its struggles. However, that’s not likely to be the reality. 

New Orleans must still use the bye week as an opportunity to self-scout and make important adjustments if the team wants to wrap up the season on a positive note.

One of the biggest improvements the Saints should look to make coming out of the bye week is the ability to generate success in structure.

Better Execution, Less Freelancing

A lot of the Saints’ biggest plays against the Carolina Panthers happened when Shough extended plays by going into the scramble drill. While there is endless benefit to being able to hunt big plays on section-action opportunities, being able to operate inside the structure of the intended play call is what every NFL team has to be able to do consistently in order to win games.

Shough’s big completion to Juwan Johnson for 52 yards was a player that necessitated the scramble drill due to pressure. The quarterback’s ability to escape and find his target is all very well and good. But being able to drum up such explosive plays by the initially designed play is also a must.

Tyler Shough hits his TE Juwan Johnson for 52 yards!

NOvsCAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/9sjtnsfWR7

— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025

This Benefits The Run, Too

Similarly, the run game would benefit from improvements like this down the stretch. The ground attack between Alvin Kamara and Devin Neal showed the most promise than has been seen in some time. Head coach Kellen Moore would certainly like to build off of that success and create a more reliable attack to support his young passer. 

Red Zone Offense

Another big area that would see some valuable steps forward with this principle of progress would be the red zone. There aren’t as many opportunities as the field shortens to extend plays and run the scramble drill. Therefore execution of the initial play will become pivotal. New Orleans found some early success last week, but had to settle for a field goal from the two-yard-line because of the continued ineffectiveness the offense has shown in that area. 

If principles, concepts and philosophies aren’t being executed well enough or are not those that lead to success in the first place, it’s time to adjust. If New Orleans can do so, the initial boost of optimism seen after the Saints’ Week 10 win will only grow stronger.