Falcons opponent: A quick look at Tyler Shough and the surging Saints
FLOWERY BRANCH — Under first-year coach Kellen Moore and rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, the Saints are making a late-season surge.
After starting the season 2-10, the Saints (6-10) have ripped off four consecutive wins as they are set to face the Falcons (7-9) in the regular-season finale at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Falcons won the previous meeting 24-10 on Nov. 23. The Saints lost their next game to the Dolphins and then went on a roll. They have beaten the Bucs (24-20), Panthers (20-17), Jets (29-6) and Titans (34-26).
It must be noted that the Falcons were swept by the Panthers and lost to the Jets. The Saints swept the Panthers.
The Saints opened the season with Spencer Rattler as the quarterback. After Rattler’s eight starts and a 1-7 record, the Saints inserted Shough, a second-round pick (40th overall) out of Louisville.
Shough, who’s 6-foot-5 and 219 pounds, has posted back-to-back 300-yard passing games, amassing 308 yards in the win over the Jets and 333 last week against the Titans.
Overall, Shough, who also played at Oregon and Texas Tech, has completed 198 of 292 passes (67.8%) for 2,125 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He has a passer rating of 92.
After harassing MVP candidate Matthew Stafford of the Rams into three interceptions and posting three sacks Monday night, the Falcons defense may be coming off its best performance of the season.
“I’m not sure,” cornerback A.J. Terrell said. “I don’t think of it like that. We played a good game. Whatever were the previous games that we played pretty good, that’s what they are. As a defense it’s always about resetting.”
The Falcons plan to approach Shough as if he has the reputation of Stafford, who’s thrown for a career-high 42 touchdown passes this season.
“These last couple of weeks we just went … we understand that we are not going to the playoffs and things like that,” Terrell said. “The league changes. The teams change every year. Knowing that we have one game left … just understanding that, going into (the Saints’ game) like that’s the mindset. One game left, leave it all on the field. Play our best ball.”
Saints running back Alvin Kamara, a Norcross High legend, is dealing with knee and ankle injuries and hasn’t played since the last game against the Falcons. Running back Audric Estime rushed 14 times for a career-high 94 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Titans.
This will be the 113th regular-season meeting. The series is tied 56-56. The Falcons won the only playoff meeting in 1991.
The teams split the series last season. The Falcons won at home 26-24 on Sept. 29, and the Saints beat the Falcons 20-17 on Nov. 10. It was the game where quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered a shoulder injury that derailed last season.
Shough’s main weapons are wide receiver Chris Olave and tight end Juwan Johnson.
Olave has caught 100 passes for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns. He became the second receiver in Saints history with 100 catches in a season, joining Michael Thomas, who did it three times.
Johnson has 74 catches for 826 yards and three touchdowns.
The Saints defense is led by linebacker Demario Davis, who has 137 tackles. After suffering a calf injury, he may not be available Sunday. Defensive end Chase Young (8.5 sacks) and Cam Jordan (9.5 sacks) provide a respectable pass rush.
Young had a strip sack that he returned for a touchdown against the Titans.
The special teams units will be important for each team.
In the last meeting, then-Saints kicker Blake Grupe missed two field-goal attempts of 38 and 47 yards, both wide right. The Saints have since stabilized the position with the signing of Charlie Smyth, who made a career-long with a 57-yard field goal in the third quarter against the Titans, while also making a 56-yard field goal earlier in the game.
Smyth, an International Pathways Program kicker, is the first kicker in Saints history with three field goals of 56 yards or more in a season. Smyth also had six touchbacks on seven kickoffs against the Titans.
A native of Mayobridge, Ireland, Smyth was in the program with Lenny Krieg, who the Falcons have on their practice squad but haven’t used in the regular season.
The Falcons needed a 51-yard field goal in the final minute to beat the Rams 27-24. But they had another field-goal attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown by Rams defender Jared Verse.
“We’ll check the tape and get back to that one,” Falcons kicker Zane Gonzalez said. “They do a fantastic job with everything that they do. Stuff happens.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
