Sunday's game between the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns
was certainly one of the games of all time. Not the most entertaining, and definitely not the most disappointing, but it sure happened. A matchup that was sloppy for most of the afternoon ended up going to overtime, where two young quarterbacks traded clutch throws before one of the defenses was able to get a stop. New Orleans won the day, 23-22.But those highlight reel-worthy touchdown passes didn't come until after the two teams traded a series of field goals. Both sides were out of sorts; the Saints fumbled twice while the Browns drew ten penalty flags for a loss of 58 yards. New Orleans had some success running the football, totaling 160 yards on 32 attempts, but 51 of those yards came
on scrambles by Tyler Shough. Shough completed 21 of 35 passes for 265 yards and a critical fourth-quarter touchdown. He also took five sacks.
The Saints pass defense should feel embarrassed. They allowed Shedeur Sanders to throw for 297 yards and two touchdowns (completing 19 of 31 passes), hitting each of his rookie wideouts for gains of 60 or more yards. Poor tackling by defensive captain Justin Reid and second-year linebacker Danny Stutsman let the Browns score in overtime and attempt a two-point try to win it all. New Orleans was lucky to esccape witih a win.
lol pic.twitter.com/Lr0x8gtkMe
— John Sigler (@john_siglerr) November 8, 2026
It wasn't supposed to go this way. The Saints had their bye week to self-scout, reevaluate their problems, and look for answers. They were supposed to play better football than this. Sure, they ran over a bad run defense, but they let a mediocre quarterback have a career day. And the passing attack didn't liven up as expected with first-round picks like Jordyn Tyson and Kelvin Banks Jr. getting back in the lineup.
With all that said? A win is a win. The Saints are tied for first place in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons (3-6) and Carolina Panthers (3-5) both lost. We're waiting to see if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (also 3-5) can beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football to decide the standings, but New Orleans is right back in it.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints outlast the Browns for an embarrassing win in overtime
