NEW ORLEANS (AP) — By hanging on in overtime at home against a backup quarterback making his first start of the season, the Saints have increased their victory total to three and have given themselves as good a chance as any team in the NFC South to make the playoffs.
Still, second-year coach Kellen Moore stressed that “it's a long road ahead to the end of that equation” when he was asked about his team's seemingly burgeoning postseason hopes.
Moore
should know. He spent much of the Saints' Week 8 bye evaluating his team's first seven games, five of which were losses. Whether analyzing video of game action or poring over statistical trends, there were plenty of causes for concern.
Even in their 23-22 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns and backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the Saints didn't exactly look like juggernauts. They scored just three points in the first half and had just nine points before second-year quarterback Tyler Shough began producing clutch completions in the final minutes of regulation and into overtime, when he led two crucial touchdown drives.
Through Sunday's games, New Orleans still ranked 26th in the NFL in yards rushing (95.3 per game), 27th in points allowed per game (27), 28th in turnover differential (minus-6), and 31st in rate of field goals made (68.8%).
So while the Saints (3-5) could take sole possession of first place in their anemic division with a victory this weekend, it might be a stretch — at least for the moment — to start including them among the NFC's contenders.
The Saints sacked Sanders five times. Carl Granderson had two sacks to bring his season total up to 7 1/2, just a half sack behind team leader Chase Young, who had one against Cleveland. Linebacker Kaden Elliss and defensive tackle Khristian Boyd had the others.
“Our pass rush was just relentless," Moore said Sunday. "Awesome by those guys. It showed up all the way until the last play of the game.”
The Saints have been trying to start fast on offense all season and still have just one first-quarter touchdown through eight games this season. On Sunday, the Saints had a second-and-3 on the Cleveland 5 in the opening quarter, then went backward on their next two plays: a fumbled handoff and a sack. They settled for a field goal that wound up being their only points in the first half.
Running back Audric Estime — who made the Week 1 roster, was later waived, and then claimed off waivers from Cleveland early last week — gave the Saints a reason to keep him around this time. Estime carried 15 times for 72 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and a touchdown that gave New Orleans a 16-13 lead with 58 seconds left in regulation. He also had a crucial 9-yard gain on third-and-1 in overtime that helped set up the eventual winning touchdown.
Veteran journeyman cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., who has been one of the Saints' feel-good stories this season as he works his way back from an Achilles tendon injury that wiped out his 2025 season, had a difficult day against Cleveland. He was in coverage on receiver KC Concepcion Jr.'s 64-yard touchdown, and he also was unable to break up Sanders' desperation 30-yard throw on third down to Jerry Jeudy during a drive that set up a tying field goal at the end of regulation.
Meanwhile, first-round draft choice Jordyn Tyson, selected eighth overall last spring, made a tepid debut. Moments after making his first NFL reception inside the Cleveland 5-yard line, he fumbled the ball away while diving forward. He finished the day with four catches for 30 yards and his turnover could have been a lot more costly than it wound up being in such a closely contested game. That performance came after he missed the first seven games of the season with a hamstring injury that raised questions about his reliability, given his previous struggles with injuries as a college player.
Veteran center Erik McCoy left Sunday's game with a biceps injury that Moore said on Monday is expected to cause him to miss games, but should not end his season.
Meanwhile, the Saints are hoping to bring back running back Travis Etienne from injured reserve soon, perhaps as early as this week.
“We'll see,” Moore said, but added that Etienne is “progressing really well.”
1 — The number of victories the Saints have out of four games played in New Orleans this season. They also lost to Pittsburgh in Paris in Week 7, when the Saints were the designated home team.
The Saints will try to win for the third time in four games when they host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
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