In their fourth try this season, the New Orleans Saints finally got a win inside the Superdome with a 23-22 overtime defeat of the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Saints didn't make it easy on themselves. They blew two first half touchdown opportunities in the first half with questionable play-calling and a costly turnover. In the second half, awful defensive adjustments and nearly back-breaking coverage breakdowns nearly cost the win. Nevertheless, a gutsy performance by quarterback Tyler Shough and the best effort of the year from the New Orleans front seven pushed the Saints to 3-5 and a share of first place in the NFC South. Here were the players who had the biggest contribution to the win.
Game Ball: Audric Estime
You wouldn't think that 72 rushing yards would earn
a game ball, but Estime provided the best rushing threat the Saints have had all season. Released with an injury settlement at the end of training camp, Estime was re-signed by New Orleans after his release from the Browns this past week. He'd carry the ball 18 times for 72 yards, averaging 4.8 per carry and recording the team's highest rushing total of the year.
Estime got the first three carries of the opening drive. His 31 yards on those three plays surpassed the entire rushing total of 18 yards that the Saints had two weeks ago against the Steelers. Estime's effectiveness on the ground also opened up play-action for the Saints, something not often used by the offense this season.
Game Ball: Tyler Shough
Shough had an efficient first half, completing 7 of 10 throws for 135 yards, but failing to get the ball in the end zone. Included in that first half total was a big 52-yard throw to rookie Barion Brown and another big gain of 36 yards to Chris Olave. The first pass was squandered by a fumble at the goal line by Jordyn Tyson, but the pass to Olave led directly to a critical Charlie Smyth field goal before halftime.
Shough cooled considerably through the third quarter, but came alive again when the Saints needed him with the game on the line. He was brilliant on a 55-yard touchdown drive to take the lead late in the fourth quarter and the Saints 74-yard winning touchdown drive in overtime. On those two possessions, Shough completed 8 of 11 passes for 93 yards and a brilliant overtime touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson. For the game, he was 21 of 35 for 265 yards and a touchdown without an interception. Shough was also an aggressive runner, taking off 10 times for 51 yards on several crucial pickups. While there were questionable stretches, Shough outdueled fellow second-year quarterback Shadeur Sanders and continues to show that he is by far the best quarterback from the 2025 draft class.
Game Ball: Kaden Elliss
A healthy Elliss makes a huge difference for the New Orleans defense. After missing three weeks with an injured calf and still being visibly slowed against Pittsburgh, Elliss was a ferocious force against the Browns. He led all Saints tacklers with 11 total stops, including 8 solo. Elliss also had a first half sack and several pressures, before coordinator Brandon Staley inexplicably stopped using him as a blitzer in the second half. Still, Elliss had several critical tackles short of first downs against the run and in coverage. His biggest play of the afternoon was a fourth down goal-line stuff of Browns running game Quinshon Judkins. Elliss, Chase Young, and Carl Granderson spearheaded the best performance of the year from the New Orleans front seven.
Game Ball: Chase Young
Young takes his familiar spot in this column, earning it on almost a weekly basis. He had a sack to bring his yearly total to 8 takedowns. Young drew a massive amount of attention from Cleveland blockers, yet still came through with several big pressures along with a tipped pass. While Young's production was again impressive, it was what doesn't show up on a stat sheet that was perhaps most important against the Browns.
Cleveland tight end Harold Fannin was his team's leading receiver but did not have a catch in this game until overtime. That is because the Browns were forced to keep Fannin on the line as an extra blocker against Young. Twice, Cleveland offensive linemen opposite of Young were flagged for false starts. Chase Young has developed into an elite force that affects offenses with his mere presence while still managing to be disruptive against extra attention.
Game Ball: Carl Granderson
While Chase Young and Kaden Elliss were defensive forces, Carl Granderson gets the primary Week 9 game ball for his performance against the Browns. Granderson had two sacks of Shadeur Sanders, his fourth straight game of at least 1.5 sacks. He had 7 tackles on the day, including some key run stops but not including a handful of vital pressures of Sanders. Granderson made the Browns pay for leaving him in some one-on-one situations while double-teaming Young. Cleveland never did find an answer for Granderson, who also drew a couple crippling holding penalties from Browns blockers. The most crucial was on the overtime two-point conversion attempt, and while Sanders threw an incompletion it still wouldn't have counted because Granderson was held. On a day where the Saints secondary failed them in big ways, Carl Granderson, Chase Young, and Kaden Elliss put out dominant efforts to pull out this win.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Game balls from the Saints' exhilarating overtime win over Browns
