Saints’ Tyler Shough Winning TD Doesn’t Look Like TD Vs. Ravens

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Tyler Shough #6 of the New Orleans Saints reacts after a rushing touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter of a game at M&T Bank Stadium on September 20, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Tyler Shough put together a heroic performance to lead the New Orleans Saints to a comeback win, and an upset, of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Shough capped it off by pushing the ball across the goal line for a game-winning touchdown in the 24-17 win in Baltimore.

Or did he?

There’s a lot of case to be made that Shough didn’t actually score.

He’s pushing in traffic during a tush push, and he’s also bobbling the ball a little bit.

All the while, Roquan Smith is grabbing his facemask.

The facemask grab is actually thing that seems to keep Shough out, if he was kept out.

Did Tyler Shough Actually Score?

The officials ruled a touchdown, and the call stood and counted on the scoreboard, and so that’s really all that counts.

That being said, the video footage is certainly not too convincing:

Saints QB Tyler Shough is awarded a touchdown on this play against the Ravens pic.twitter.com/5Jtc8dpURS

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 20, 2026

You can watch that a bunch of times, and it’s hard to make up your mind.

The football just has to break the plane of the goal line — but it also has to happen to be in the ball-carrier’s possession when it breaks the plane.

The bobble by Shough complicates matters here.

The Ravens still had a chance to tie the game before Lamar Jackson was intercepted by Julian Blackmon, so they didn’t solely lose because of the potentially controversial Shough ending. It still is a painful ending, though.

More From NFL About Call

ESPN’s Jamison Hensley designated pool reporter for the Saints-Ravens game , which meant he could ask NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth about the controversial call.

Hensley shared the entire conversation on X:

Question: Was there clear evidence that Tyler Shough crossed the goal line on the fourth down quarterback sneak (1:32 remaining, New Orleans 4th and 1, Baltimore 1 yard-line)? Mark Butterworth: “The key here is the ruling on the field is a touchdown. So, we need clear and obvious video evidence that he didn’t score in order to reverse the on-field ruling. We stopped the game, it’s a high-leverage play, we wanted to make sure to either find clear and obvious video evidence that he didn’t score or to confirm the call on the field. We exhausted all available angles and could not prove clear and obvious that he did not break the plane of the goal line.” Question: During any of the replays, did it show that Tyler Shough lost control of the ball at any point while trying to get the ball across the goal line? Butterworth: “No. If he did lose control of the ball, we would need to find, after he regained possession, if the ball broke the plane of the goal line. In that mass of players, we weren’t able to find clear and obvious video evidence that the ball did not break the plane of the goal line. Therefore, the ruling on the field stands.”