The New Orleans Saints didn’t pick an easy matchup for rookie quarterback Tyler Shough to make his first start. The Los Angeles Rams are 5-2 and coming off back-to-back wins. The Saints have now fallen
to 1-7 and are entering as 14-point underdogs. With such lopsided projections, New Orleans must take advantage of these key matchups if it wants to steal a win on Sunday.
Saints OLine vs. Rams pass rush
The biggest concern for Shough coming out of the draft was his antsy feet in the pocket and his inability to avoid the pass rush. Unfortunately for the rookie pass caller, his NFL debut will be against one of the top pass rushing teams, with the Rams second in sacks in the league with 26 on the year.
The Saints are currently allowing 2.5 sacks per game, and while not great, have been able to avoid sacks at a decent rate. But a lot of New Orleans’ ability to stay upright was due to Spencer Rattler’s evasiveness in the pocket. While Shough is an athlete himself, he likely won’t be able to avoid sacks as well as Rattler has all year, making Sunday a nightmare matchup for the rookie quarterback making his first start.
Saints secondary vs. Matthew Stafford
Despite back-to-back losses, the Saints’ pass defense has stepped it up over the last couple of weeks. The secondary held Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to just 172 yards and an interception without allowing a touchdown, and fared pretty well against Baker Mayfield, limiting him to just 152 yards and no touchdowns.
But the Saints’ secondary will be facing the second-best quarterback they have seen this season. Stafford is seventh in passing yards, second in touchdowns, and top 10 in QB rating among all NFL QBs. Facing veteran quarterbacks is always a challenge, and with the Saints’ zone-heavy 3-4 defense, Stafford won’t be fooled by the tricks the New Orleans defense will show him. While Stafford has been sacked 17 times this season, it’s hard to bring him down due to how fast he gets the ball out of his hands.
The Saints need to limit Stafford’s effect on the game and give Shough a chance. If the veteran quarterback begins to take over, you’ll be asking a lot for your rookie quarterback to go toe-to-toe with one of the league’s best.
