Saints QB Tyler Shough bounced back in big way in win over Panthers

In the grand scheme of things, the New Orleans Saints' 17-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday won't be remembered decades from now. It's only the second win for New Orleans in a year that will likely end with the Saints having one of the worst records in football. 

Just don't tell that to rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who quarterbacked the Saints to their first division win of 2025 against a red-hot Carolina squad. 

Shough, a 26-year-old native of Chandler, Arizona, was a second-round pick by the Saints in April who was given the starting job ahead of the their Week 8 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shough was stepping in for Spencer Rattler, who led the Saints to a 1-6 start. 

Shough's first two outings — a 23-3 home loss to the Buccaneers and a 34-10 road shellacking at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams — were admittedly underwhelming. Shough didn't eclipse 200 passing yards in either game struggled to engineer any explosive plays. 

Tyler Shough bounces back in the Queen City

But that was far from the case on Sunday, when Shough threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first rookie quarterback to win a game as a New Orleans starter since 1981. 

Shough's day was highlighted by a 52-yard pass to Juwan Johnson on 3rd-and-12 and a 62-yard touchdown bomb to Chris Olave that gave the Saints a 10-7 lead.