NFL accidentally killed the Saints’ momentum with Tyler Shough before the season ever even started
The bye week is normally welcomed.
The NFL schedule was known some time before thew preseason rolled around for every single team. For the New Orleans Saints, their time off this week was surprisingly a bit of a bummer, considering their most recent performance. Instead of attempting to fly high for a couple weeks in a row, they must take time to evaluate this season and possibly even relax a bit.
Bye week comes at an odd time for New Orleans
The Saints are coming off their second win of the season. Their Week 10 performance against the Carolina Panthers was probably their most complete output from every part of the roster up to this point, though. The offense stayed on schedule for the most part, and Tyler Shough was impressive behind a banged up offensive line unit. Not to mention, Alvin Kamara looked explosive and energetic.
Now, though, New Orleans has the week off. Kellen Moore revealed on Monday that the coaching staff will do some self-scouting to find ways to improve themselves over the latter part of this season that has included plenty of frustrating moments for the Saints.
The bye week does take some wind out of New Orleans’ sails, though. Instead of being able to capitalize more on Shough’s intriguing start versus Carolina, they have to take some time away from the field. The time off could have been a bit more helpful a few weeks ago when Moore’s team was dealing with QB controversy and a disappointing losing skid where neither side of the football was performing well enough.
Regardless, this does spark some opportunity for guys to get healthier, albeit in a season where the Saints have avoided injuries a bit more than recent years. The offensive line is without Erik McCoy for the rest of the season, but there is a possibility that OT Taliese Fuaga could return after the bye. New Orleans won’t rush him back, though.
For Shough, he cannot get too high or too low when it comes to confidence over this break. He played a Kellen Moore brand of football against Carolina, taking deep shots when they were available and protecting the football.
His movement in the pocket may be them out glaring aspect that fans were pleasantly surprised by. He must continue to improve, and there will certainly be some bye week conversations between he and his teammates on ways to start a winning streak, rather than falling back into a drift downwards.
The Saints still hold a top five selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, but the biggest question going forward for this campaign is the future of Shough in black and gold.
New Orleans Saints News
Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough answered a massive question with his phenomenal performance in win over Panthers
What a start by the rookie.
