Mike Tyson says everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the mouth.
For Tyler Shaw, that might just be the plan.
Shaw and the New Orleans Saints are 1-1, with both games following the same format. The Saints would go down early as Shaw struggled, but would catch fire late to force a dramatic finish. In Week 1, the Saints trailed the Detroit Lions 21-7 late in the third quarter before forcing overtime on the road. New Orleans had two chances to steal the win late, with Daniel Carlson’s 62-yard field goal attempt sailing right at the end of regulation and a two-point attempt in overtime coming up empty, leaving the final score 31-30 in favor of Detroit.
Then in Week 2, Shaw and the Saints outscored the Baltimore Ravens 17-9 as the fourth quarter began, using 15 unanswered points to get into Baltimore and beat the Ravens by a final score of 24-17.
Yes, there was a somewhat controversial decision on Shaw’s fourth-down touchdown pass with less than two minutes remaining, but the ruling stood, and the Saints were suddenly 1-1.
Shaw’s own production followed the same style: start slow, finish red-hot. In Week 1 against the Lions, Shaw went 10-for-22 for 85 yards and an interception in the first half against Detroit, but completed 25-of-34 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns, along with an interception, in the second half and into overtime.
In Week 2 at Baltimore, Shaw connected on 12-of-15 passes for 102 yards in the first half, but went 15-of-19 for 150 yards and a touchdown in the second half.
In just the fourth quarter this season, Shaw has consistently completed 24-of-31 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns this season. That’s good for an NFL passer rating of 125.3 and adjusted net yards per attempt of 9.59.
NFL league averages in these two Categories are 94.7 and 6.4respectively.
While you’ll never apologize for losing in the NFC, and while the Saints’ 1-1 start is a mixed bag of things in the NFC South, Saints fans rightly ask: Is this sustainable?
From what we’ve seen, it probably is.
Of course, teams don’t want to spend an entire season building from a rebound and just a fourth quarter, but there’s a roadmap for the 2026 Saints to follow if and when they try that. That roadmap? 2025 Chicago Bears, Man Seven comeback wins — six in the regular season and one more on Wild Card Weekend — to the divisional round a year ago.
Back to Shaw, some of his best moments this year, from a film standpoint, came in these fourth quarter returns. Take this fourth-down conversion with the Lions to extend the drive:
Detroit brings a blitz from the right edge, and the quarterback leads to a free runner. But Shaw deftly moves up around the pocket and pressure before firing a strike to rookie wide receiver Bryce Lance to move the chain. Perhaps the best part of this game? Safety of the ball. As he steps into the pocket, Shaw keeps both hands on the football, preventing a sack as Roger McCreary helps him get his hands on Shaw as he flashes off the edge.
Then it was a deep shot to Chris Olave, with Shaw seeing another free runner.
Detroit uses Adan Hutchinson to free up the right side of the offense, but Shaw has the strength — both physical and mental — to spot the free runner and deliver this game-winning layup to Olave, who completes the play with his own touchdown to give the Saints a first down in the red zone with under two minutes remaining.
Again, this trend of the show stepping up in big moments continued last Sunday. Take this touchdown to Olav, when he calls out a wide receiver on a dig route and hits it with anticipation:
More than anything else, it’s this read and throw that gives me confidence that Shaw’s fourth-quarter performance will not only continue, but grow into the rest of the game script. Like us Talked earlier this week As for another young NFC South quarterback, Bryce Young, time and speculation are signs that the game is slowing down for the quarterback.
Here, Shaw secures a split field cover and comes straight at Olav on his breaking path. I love the decision, timing and enthusiasm on this touchdown throw. This is a confident and decisive quarterback, with his vision on the field, reading the coverage and trusting the concept at his fingertips.
Confident and determined balls are successful.
That is certainly sustainable.