In Week 14, the New Orleans Saints pulled off an upset against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The day was far from perfect in New Orleans, but the future felt a bit brighter thanks to their starting QB’s performance.
Tyler Shough’s Historical Performance vs. the Buccaneers
The Saints’ rookies impressed against the Buccaneers, including QB Tyler Shough, who seems to be getting closer and closer to securing the starting job in New Orleans for 2026.
He finished the game with 144 passing yards, two long rushing touchdowns, and one interception, but the passing stats do not tell the whole story. The weather in Tampa Bay was bad all day, and combining that with offensive line injuries/issues, the odds were against Shough.
Instead, he stepped up, made excellent plays, and helped elevate the team to a win over the division rival Buccaneers. Getting a win here was impressive by itself, but with this victory, Shough also joined some elite company in Saints history.
After Sunday’s game, Shough became the second rookie QB in Saints history to win multiple games during their first year since Archie Manning.
In Manning’s rookie year, he was the starting QB in all three of New Orleans’ wins. Hopefully for Shough, he can either match or exceed that win total in his own rookie season.
Shough’s Future With the Saints
Winning on Sunday and joining Saints history is the cherry on top for Shough’s season as a whole. Since becoming the starter, Shough has been impressive in every game. Even if the offense struggled, the rookie QB seemed like one of the best players, and he always attempted to overcome the issues.
What makes his performances even more impressive so far is the lack of help New Orleans has given him. The offensive line has been either injured or disappointing, two of the starting WRs are no longer on the team, and RB Alvin Kamara has been injured.
The Saints offense as a whole ranks 27th overall in PFSN’s Offensive Impact Metric, and it is tough for any rookie QB to improve that right away. Still, that is what Shough has been tasked with doing, and in his short time as a starter, he is showing enough for the Saints to make him the QB1 in 2026.