We’re now on Day 62 in our countdown to the New Orleans Saints‘ 2026 regular season, which means the longest pass of Tyler Shough’s rookie year is our pick for the Saints Play of the Day. Shough had replaced Spencer Rattler under center halfway through a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two weeks earlier; the Saints offense still couldn’t get off the ground in losses to the Bucs and the Los Angeles Rams, and now Shough was drawing a lot of scrutiny in just his second career start, this time against the Carolina Panthers. Did he really have the tools to lead Kellen Moore’s offense?
Shough answered that question quickly with a lob down the sideline, finding Olave in one-on-one coverage with Carolina’s top cornerback Jaycee Horn. Horn fell to the dirt and Olave took off for the end zone, quieting the Panthers’ home field. New Orleans went on to win the day 17-7, snapping a four-game losing streak and setting them up for a surge after the bye week. You can see the scoring play right here.
CHRIS OLAVE 62 YARDS
NOvsCAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/e9BXTPaXQb
— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025
Shough built a lot of goodwill in the second half of the season by leading the Saints to close wins over four of their last five opponents. They would’ve won a sixth game if Olave had held on to a last-minute touchdown pass against the Miami Dolphins, but it slipped through his hands. Even without Olave in the regular season finale against the Atlanta Falcons, Shough threw for 232 yards and scored a couple of touchdowns surrounded by receivers and running backs called up from the practice squad. The Saints have invested a ton of dollars and premium draft picks into his supporting cast this offseason, so now let’s see if he can score from even further out in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints Play of the Day: The longest pass of Tyler Shough’s rookie year
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