Sunday was one of the toughest Saints games to watch this season. They blew up a 27-22 lead and turned it into a 35-27 loss with a stunning four-possession meltdown.
Every single one of New Orleans’ four possessions in the final 15 minutes ended in a turnover (a strip-sack fumble, an interception, and two more lost fumbles).
Tyler Shough had a clean pocket for most of the first three quarters, throwing for 255 yards and four touchdowns. But in the fourth, the offensive line protection completely collapsed under pass rush pressure, forcing mistakes and triggering that first costly strip-sack.
That cost the Saints their first loss of the season. And Chris Olave a shot at getting any touchdowns that night.
Saints WR Chris Olave Backs Tyler Shough
Shough had a few chances of throwing Olave one touchdown, but the fourth-quarter struggles were the bigger problem for him Sunday. When Kay Adams asked Olave about it on her show, Olave simply brushed it off, instead praising Shough for pushing through the quarter when Raiders began biting down hard on them.
“We both just calm,” Olave told Adams. “That’s just how life is. It’s always going to be adversity, it’s not always going to be how we plan it to be. It’s always going to be God’s plan. So, you just got to be ready. Just be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
This particular ability to keep his calm in situations like the fourth quarter in Week 3 was perhaps Shough’s best trait, per his teammate Olave.
“I feel like that’s one of his best traits, to be honest. That’s why he always shines in the fourth quarter, or always shines when we need a play to be made. He’s just always calm and collected when those times come.”
Olave on Shared Chemistry with Tyler Shough
Although he has just 1 TD in three games combined, Olave is still Shough’s go-to on the field. The WR spoke about the chemistry they’ve built throughout the offseason.
“We always build chemistry throughout the offseason,” Olave continued. “Trying to get every time he tries to throw routes or do stuff on the side, I’m always there. Just trying to get better at the end of the day. It’s just 1% better every day, trying to stack every day.”
The schedule doesn’t offer any breathing room. Up next are the Falcons, followed by the Vikings, Giants, and Steelers—a stretch of physical defenses that will immediately test how well New Orleans fixed its protection issues. That fourth-quarter collapse against the Raiders laid out exactly what happens when the offensive line breaks down, and the opposing team presses too hard. For Shough and Olave, turning those lessons into cleaner execution isn’t optional if they want to survive this next run.
Olave feels they have it covered.
“When we get in these situations where we get down 21, or we need a play to be made, I feel like that’s when that turns into what we need. So I feel like Tyler’s always been a great dude, just a down to earth dude, easy to talk to. So that’s easy for us off the field, and then it just translates on the field.”
Saints’ Chris Olave Breaks Down His Chemistry With Tyler Shough Ahead of Week 4