New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough‘s brutal start to the 2026 season quickly drew criticism during Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
Shough threw a career-high two interceptions and later lost a fumble on a strip-sack as New Orleans fell into a 20-0 hole in the third quarter at Ford Field. At that point, Shough had completed just 10 of 23 passes for 85 yards without a touchdown.
The turnovers represented unfamiliar territory for the second-year quarterback. Shough threw six interceptions as a rookie in 2025 but had never been intercepted more than once in a single NFL game. He never had three turnovers in a single game either.
And the reaction to his performance was swift.
NFL Analysts Rip Tyler Shough’s Performance
NFL analyst Nate Tice highlighted an especially concerning element of Shough’s struggles.
The real problem is that he’s 9-18 for 74 yards and 2 INTs today when NOT pressured.
Tice posted during the game that Shough was 1-of-5 for 11 yards when pressured at that point. But according to the Next Gen Stats figures Tice cited, the quarterback was also just 9-of-18 for 74 yards with two interceptions when he wasn’t pressured.
In other words, Detroit’s pass rush wasn’t solely responsible for the ugly numbers.
ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak was similarly critical, writing on X that Shough’s game was “disastrous.”
The criticism also came from reporters who cover New Orleans closely.
After Shough was strip-sacked in the third quarter, Saints reporter John Hendrix wrote that the quarterback had lost the football and added: “This is embarrassing for the Saints.”
That turnover proved particularly costly. Detroit took possession at the New Orleans 25-yard line and quickly converted the short field into an Amon-Ra St. Brown touchdown, pushing its advantage to 20-0.
Saints reporter Chris Rosvoglou also called Shough’s performance “atrocious,” although he pointed out that the problems extended beyond the quarterback and criticized New Orleans’ inability to establish its running game.
It just cracks me up that Kellen Moore’s offense yet again can’t run the football. Pay for upgrades at OG, RB but it doesn’t matter.
That’s an important distinction for a Saints offense that was struggling across the board. At the 8:54 mark of the third quarter, New Orleans had only 101 total yards and 2.7 yards per play.
But Shough’s three turnovers put him squarely at the center of the Saints’ offensive collapse.
Rough Start Comes After Tyler Shough’s Promising Rookie Finish
The performance stood out even more because of how Shough finished his rookie season.
Shough started nine games in 2025 and went 5-4, completing 204 of 295 passes for 2,256 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. New Orleans won four of its final five games behind him.
His late-season surge included consecutive 300-yard passing performances, and the NFL named him Offensive Rookie of the Month for December and January.
That finish created expectations that Shough could make another jump in Year 2.
There was outside optimism as well. Before Sunday’s opener, FOX Sports reported that NFL scouts and executives viewed Shough as a potential breakout player entering the 2026 season.
His Week 1 performance went in precisely the opposite direction.
One game — particularly one that had yet to finish when the criticism began pouring in — won’t define Shough’s second NFL season. But the nature of the mistakes matters.
The Saints weren’t merely asking their quarterback to survive relentless pressure. As Tice’s numbers showed, Shough was having problems from clean situations, too.
That makes his response — both later against Detroit and in the Saints’ next game — much more significant than the ugly stat line alone.
Saints QB Tyler Shough Under Fire After Career-High Turnovers vs. Lions