Tag: New Orleans Saints

Surging Falcons, Saints aim to end season on high note

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Ahead of the regular-season finale on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons and visiting New Orleans Saints are undoubtedly the hottest teams in the NFC South.

Unfortunately for the two rivals, their respective December hot streaks will amount to nothing more than momentum heading into 2026.

Atlanta (7-9) has won three straight games since it was eliminated from postseason contention for the eighth straight year on Dec. 7. New Orleans (6-10) began the year 2-10 but has now strung together a four-game winning streak — tied for the Saints’ longest since a nine-game stretch in 2020.

Despite the teams being unable to propel themselves into a postseason berth, Sunday’s 113th all-time regular-season meeting between the division foes could have a major ripple effect in the lackluster NFC South.

The Carolina Panthers (8-8) will win the division if they beat or tie the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) on Saturday. Carolina can also clinch a playoff spot if Atlanta beats New Orleans.

Tampa Bay can earn its fifth straight NFC South crown if it wins on Saturday and Atlanta loses or ties the Saints.

Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris knows his team would have been in the thick of the division race if it had avoided its five-game midseason skid, making the fallout all the more frustrating.

“It’s really upsetting,” Morris said. “You would have liked for us to have won some games so that we could have been in this race, or leading this race. We feel we could’ve been, but we’re not. What we’ve done is focused on winning and focused on doing the best job we can do to close out our last game.”

Helping key the Falcons’ surge is star running back Bijan Robinson, who ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards (1,445) and is second among running backs with 810 receiving yards.

Of Atlanta’s problems in its eighth straight losing season, Robinson has been far from one of them. The third-year all-purpose back did all he could to will the Falcons into the playoffs, but wouldn’t mind knocking Tampa Bay out of contention.

“That could be cool,” Robinson said of spoiling the Buccaneers’ season. “That’s so unfortunate (if there is) a three-way tie. I wish it was us going in. … But it is what it is. We did our job. We’re trying to finish our job.”

New Orleans waited until Nov. 2 to give rookie quarterback Tyler Shough his first career start. Nine weeks later, Shough has pulled the Saints from the league’s basement and continues to close the gap on a potential NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

The 26-year-old is averaging 304.3 passing yards per game and has thrown four touchdowns in the Saints’ last three wins, solidifying a solid season for the second-round pick.

“Frankly, I don’t care about anything else other than finishing strong this week,” Shough said. “… We’ve got another really good week this week to utilize our reps and make sure we finish off the way we want to because last time (against Atlanta), it wasn’t good enough.”

In the teams’ first meeting, Kirk Cousins threw for two touchdowns in a 24-10 Atlanta win on Nov. 23. The Saints kept Robinson at bay — by his standards — holding him to 70 rushing yards, a performance head coach Kellen Moore would like to see repeated.

“You can do a lot of things right, and you can do one thing wrong and it’s a touchdown.” Moore said of Robinson.

On the injury report, Atlanta cornerback Clark Phillips III (triceps/illness) was a non-participant in practice on Wednesday, while defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus (hamstring) and Mike Hughes (ankle) will miss the season finale.

In a lengthy list for New Orleans, defensive tackles Bryan Bresee (knee) and Nathan Shepherd (ankle/knee) didn’t practice on Wednesday. Cornerback Michael Davis (shoulder), running back Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle), tight ends Zaire Mitchell-Paden (knee) and Jack Stoll (knee) and wide receiver Chris Olave (illness) were non-participants.

–Field Level Media

Tyler Shough, Saints push past Buccaneers

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough had two of New Orleans’ three rushing touchdowns and the visiting Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20 on Sunday afternoon.

Shough passed for just 144 yards, but he rushed for 55 and fellow rookie Devin Neal contributed the third touchdown and 70 rushing yards on a rain-soaked field.

Baker Mayfield passed for 122 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Buccaneers (7-6), who dropped into a tie with idle Carolina for first place in the NFC South.

The first possession of the second half ended when Mayfield was intercepted by Alontae Taylor and the Saints (3-10) took over the Bucs’ 47. Three plays later, Shough ran 34 yards for a touchdown that gave New Orleans a 14-10 lead.

Tampa Bay regained the lead on the ensuing possession when Sean Tucker ran 1 yard for a touchdown.

Saints kicker Charlie Smyth, who missed a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter, made a 30-yard field goal that tied the score at 17 at the end of the third quarter.

The Bucs turned the ball over on downs on the fourth play of the fourth quarter when Mayfield threw an incompletion on fourth and 2 at the New Orleans 46.

Shough threw completions of 12 and 10 yards to Chris Olave and 14 yards to Neal before scrambling 13 yards for the tiebreaking touchdown with 8:26 remaining.

Chase McLaughlin’s 37-yard field goal trimmed the lead to 24-20 with 4:54 remaining. Tampa Bay got the ball back at its 20 with 1:48 left after a punt, but turned the ball over on downs when Mayfield’s completion to Cade Otton came up short of the line to gain.

The Saints’ Mason Tipton returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the Tampa Bay 45, and six players later Neal ran 3 yards for a touchdown.

The Bucs answered on the ensuing possession as Mayfield threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Bucky Irving, and the score remained tied at the end of the first quarter.

McLaughlin’s 41-yard field goal in the second quarter gave the Bucs a 10-7 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media

De’Von Achane leads Dolphins as they hold off Saints

Posted on | by Field Level Media

De’Von Achane rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown, Riley Patterson kicked four field goals, and the host Miami Dolphins won their third straight game by holding off the New Orleans Saints 21-17 on Sunday afternoon.

Achane scored on a 29-yard run on the first possession of the game, and the Dolphins (5-7) never relinquished the lead despite a shaky performance by Tua Tagovailoa, who completed 12 of 23 passes for 157 yards, with an interception.

Rookie Tyler Shough passed for 239 yards and two touchdowns for the Saints (2-10).

On the first possession of the second half, the Saints drove 65 yards, the last 17 of which came on a touchdown pass from Shough to Chris Olave. Shough ran for a two-point conversion, New Orleans pulled to 16-8, and the score stayed that way through the end of the third quarter.

Patterson kicked a 33-yard field goal to increase the lead to 19-8 with 9:39 remaining. Charlie Smyth made a 56-yard field goal on his first attempt in a regular-season game to get the Saints back within eight points with 6:08 left.

New Orleans got the ball back at its 45 when it stopped Ollie Gordon II for a 1-yard loss and fourth down with 3:05 left.

Shough threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Devaughn Vele with 1:17 left, giving the Saints a chance to tie with a two-point conversion. After a false-start penalty, Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted a Shough pass and returned it all the way for two points.

Vele recovered an onside kick and the Saints reached the Miami 36, but Shough was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 with 29 seconds left.

The Dolphins received the opening kickoff and drove 69 yards in six plays, the last of which was Achane’s 29-yard TD run, and the 7-0 lead held up through the end of the first quarter.

Miami increased the lead to 10-0 when Patterson kicked a 39-yard field on the fourth play of the second quarter. Patterson added a 25-yard field goal, and after Rasul Douglas intercepted Shough, Patterson kicked a 48-yarder as time expired, giving the Dolphins a 16-0 lead.

The Dolphins outgained the Saints 298-294, but the visitors had the edge in first downs 20-16.

Vele led all pass catchers with eight receptions for 93 yards.

–Field Level Media

Report: Saints owner says calls to fire GM are ‘ridiculous’

Posted on | by Field Level Media

New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson gave a vote of confidence to general manager Mickey Loomis as he has come under fire for the team’s 2-8 start to the season, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Friday.

Loomis has been the Saints’ GM since 2002, adding the title of executive vice president in 2013.

The team’s issues include an offense that ranks toward the bottom of the NFL with 297.2 yards gained per game. Only two teams are worse than New Orleans’ 15.5 points per game.

Quarterback Spencer Rattler has averaged 198.3 yards passing through eight games. Only five quarterbacks that have appeared in at least eight games are worse.

On defense, the Saints are 13th in the NFL with 317.5 yards per game, although they are in the bottom third of the league with 25.0 points allowed.

“It may not be what fans want to hear, but as far as firing Mickey Loomis, that’s ridiculous,” Benson told the newspaper this week. “(He) does a great job.”

The Saints’ 1-8 start was the worst in franchise history since 1980 before they earned a 17-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday that was led by the defense. The victory ended a four-game losing streak, with the only other win this season against the New York Giants.

The Saints have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and are all but assured to not see a postseason game this year.

“You don’t think Mickey Loomis is losing sleep at night over all of this? He is,” Benson said. “… It’s not an easy job. It’s not like he’s sitting on his butt, not worrying about things.”

Loomis put together a team that won the Super Bowl following the 2009 season. It started a run where the Saints advanced to the playoffs in eight of 12 seasons, before the current postseason drought began.

The Saints have nine regular seasons with double-digit wins under Loomis after having just five in franchise history before he took over the GM role.

–Field Level Media

Tyler Shough, defense get Saints past Panthers 17-7

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Tyler Shough threw two touchdown passes in his first NFL victory as a starter and the New Orleans Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 17-7 on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte to end a four-game losing streak.

The Saints (2-8) held Carolina (5-5) to 175 yards of total offense.

Shough, making his second NFL start, completed 19 of 27 passes for 282 yards, with scoring strikes to Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson. Alvin Kamara gained 83 yards on 22 carries.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 124 yards and an interception, while Rico Dowdle, who had been one of the league’s most productive running backs in recent weeks, was held to 53 yards on 18 carries with a TD. Young was sacked twice.

The Saints’ Alontae Taylor intercepted Young with 13 minutes remaining, putting the ball at the Carolina 43-yard line. The Saints needed just five plays to get into the end zone on Shough’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Johnson for a 17-7 lead.

The Saints’ only previous victory came more than a month ago at home against the New York Giants.

The tide turned quickly on the Panthers, who were booed as they left the field at halftime, just a week after the team’s upset victory at Green Bay. New Orleans held a 236-83 advantage in total yards by the break. Young had 54 passing yards in the first half.

Both teams scored on their first possessions of the game.

The Panthers went 67 yards in 12 plays with Dowdle running in from 5 yards out. Even that drive had a near mishap, with an interception overturned because of a roughing-the-passer penalty.

The Saints then covered 78 yards in 10 plays but settled for Blake Grupe’s 21-yard field goal.

The Saints’ first touchdown came when Shough hooked up with Olave for a 62-yard play with 9:21 left in the second quarter, pushing the Saints to a 10-7 advantage.

A scoreless third quarter included Carolina kicker Ryan Fitzgerald’s partially blocked 48-yard field goal attempt. The Panthers kept possession because the ball traveled beyond the line of scrimmage and was touched by a New Orleans player.

But the Panthers didn’t convert on the good fortune when Young fumbled the ball on a hand off after reaching the Saints’ 19-yard line.

–Field Level Media

Oct 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai (25) runs the ball against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

Bears force 4 turnovers to bash Saints

Posted on | by Field Level Media

D’Andre Swift rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown, the Chicago defense took the ball away four times and the host Bears won their fourth consecutive game by beating the New Orleans Saints 26-14 on Sunday.

Caleb Williams passed for 172 yards and Kyle Monangai added a touchdown run for the Bears (4-2), who rushed for 222 yards and exceeded their NFL-leading average of 2.4 takeaways per game.

Spencer Rattler passed for 233 yards and threw two touchdown passes to Chris Olave, but he also threw three interceptions and lost a fumble for the Saints (1-6), who matched their turnover total for the first six games combined.

The Saints received the second-half kickoff and drove to a 14-yard touchdown pass from Rattler to Olave, the tandem’s second scoring connection in as many possessions, to pull New Orleans within 20-14.

The Bears responded with a 24-yard field goal by Jake Moody, increasing the lead to 23-14 at the end of the third quarter. Moody’s fourth field goal in as many tries, a 33-yarder, completed the scoring.

The Saints’ defense forced a three-and-out on the game’s first possession after their last four opponents had scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions. But on New Orleans’ second offensive play, Rattler lost a fumble at his team’s 24-yard line, leading to Moody’s 27-yard field goal.

Quincy Riley intercepted Williams at the Bears 48, but Blake Grupe was wide right on a 53-yard field-goal attempt, leaving Chicago with a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

On the third play of the second quarter, Moody kicked a 39-yard field goal to increase the lead to 6-0.

Nahshon Wright intercepted Rattler and gave the Bears the ball at the Saints 30. Four plays later, Swift ran 11 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead. Monangai’s 1-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 20-0.

After failing to score on its first six possessions, New Orleans drove 91 yards in five plays and Rattler’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Olave trimmed the lead to 20-7 at halftime.

–Field Level Media

Aug 23, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) makes a touchdown reception against New Orleans Saints safety Julian Blackmon (28) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Report: Saints fear torn labrum for S Julian Blackmon

Posted on | by Field Level Media

New Orleans Saints safety Julian Blackmon is reportedly feared to have sustained a torn labrum in Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

NFL Network reported Monday that the team is awaiting test results to confirm the diagnosis, which would likely require season-ending surgery.

Blackmon signed as a free agent with New Orleans on July 23, one day after the team lost safety Tyrann Mathieu to retirement. Blackmon’s deal was reportedly for one year and worth up to $5.5 million.

Blackmon, 27, played through almost the entire 2024 season with the Indianapolis Colts with a similar injury to his right shoulder which required surgery in the offseason.

He recorded seven tackles (four solo stops) and one pass defensed and was on the field for all 66 defensive snaps in Sunday’s 20-13 defeat in New Orleans.

Blackmon has 10 career interceptions, 22 passes defensed and 307 tackles in 67 games (63 starts) with the Colts (2020-24) and Saints.

–Field Level Media

Jun 10, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) and quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) and quarterback Hunter Dekkers (18) take a water break during minicamp at Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Saints’ QB competition ongoing and ‘really close,’ coach says

Posted on | by Field Level Media

While 31 of the 32 NFL teams have named their starting quarterback in this final week of training camp with Week 1 coming into focus, the New Orleans Saints haven’t settled on a starter just yet.

New head coach Kellen Moore said they’ll use this week to evaluate whether second-year QB Spencer Rattler or rookie Tyler Shough — the Saints’ second-round pick in April — will be named the starter. As Moore told reporters, the team has three practice days and their final preseason game versus the Denver Broncos (in New Orleans) to help them determine a starter.

“It’s really, really close — numbers, experiences, reps, everything — it’s going all the way back to the start of training camp,” Moore told ESPN. “Everything is very, very close between this group.”

Even their preseason numbers have been close. Rattler has completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 252 yards, one touchdown and one interception while being sacked three times. Shough has completed 70.6 percent of his throws for 231 yards, one score and one INT while being sacked four times. Rattler does have 41 rushing yards (on six scrambles) while Shough has just one run for three yards.

The Saints host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 1 p.m. ET to open the regular season.

–Field Level Media