TAMPA -- New Orleans Saints rookie Tyler Shough, trying to make his case as the franchise's future at quarterback, ran for two touchdowns in Sunday's 24-20 upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The 40th pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Shough picked up his second career win on Sunday for the Saints (3-10) and showed off his versatility in the process, rushing for 55 yards and the first two rushing touchdowns of his career.
"Usually it's like [a] quarterback getting two or three [touchdowns] through the air, not with his feet. He went ahead and put it on display today," Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said.
According to ESPN Research, it's the third time a Saints quarterback has run for at least 50 yards and two touchdowns in franchise history, joining Archie Manning (1971) and Taysom Hill (2021).
This win also came in a different style from his first win, which occurred in Week 10 at the Carolina Panthers. Shough threw for 282 yards and two passing touchdowns that day but only scrambled twice.
"Every single practice, every single week, I feel my confidence growing more and more," said Shough, who took over as starting quarterback after Spencer Rattler was benched midway through the Saints' Week 8 loss to the Buccaneers.
The Saints win against the Buccaneers (7-6) largely took place in the rain. It was the second straight game the Saints have played outside during a rain shower.
"These are great opportunities for him to learn, playing on the road against a really good opponent," Saints coach Kellen Moore said. "This opponent's going to be battling all the way to the end and then the weather obviously became a little bit of a factor and so we had to face that. So yeah, I thought his resiliency was really special."
Shough made his rookie mistakes, throwing an interception after a miscommunication with wide receiver Chris Olave. He was also sacked three times and finished 13-of-20 for 144 yards and a 65.4 quarterback rating. But Shough was able to make the plays with his legs in key moments of the game.
Shough's first touchdown was a 34-yard run three plays into the Saints' first offensive possession of the second half. The play, a designed run that had already been successfully used in the first half, gave the Saints a 14-10 lead.
"[It] was the read option play where he uses some motion to create some lead blockers for him. Used the play a couple times, he pulled and it was a really special run by him to open up and run away from some people," Moore said.
His second touchdown was a 13-yard scramble midway through the fourth quarter to put the Saints up 24-17. Shough dropped back to pass and avoided three would-be tacklers, outran another, and dove into the endzone for the score.
Saints linebacker Demario Davis said after the game that Shough has the "it factor," citing a play against the Dolphins the week before when Shough was able to avoid a sack, something he was also able to do in his touchdown run.
"It's that savviness to make heads up plays. ... to have that level of ice in your veins to make plays when plays kind of could be dead, in essence," Davis said. "To save a play, to extend a play, to make big runs in big moments, big third downs, to be able to turn into that pocket passer that can read the defense quick and get the ball out. ... It's been great to see him make those plays and we need him to continue make those."
Shough said he spoke to rookie running back Devin Neal during the game and said they needed to put the team on their backs and win the game. Neal, a sixth-round draft pick, ran the ball 19 times for 70 yards and a touchdown with Alvin Kamara sidelined by a knee injury for the second straight game.
"This is why you play football. Coming here in the elements, with all your boys," Shough said. "It kind of took everybody so it was just a lot of fun and just shows how we are as a team."
