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Tag: Tyler Shough

  • Dear Carolina, you’re welcome: Falcons end season with a 19-17 win over Saints

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    The Atlanta Falcons were in the driver’s seat on Sunday, January 4. 

    The scenario was simple: beat the New Orleans Saints, and the Carolina Panthers were in the playoffs. Lose, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would get the playoff bid. Beat the New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta would have their longest winning streak of the season (four). Lose, and the momentum that was building will be done, and another seven-win season will be in the books.

    Falcons ended the season with a 19-17 victory and a sweep of their hated rivals.

    Dear Carolina, you’re welcome.

    With five minutes remaining in the game, Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough took off running into Falcons territory. He had been playing a good game up to that point and was a threat on the ground and through the air. His next pass, however, became his team’s downfall. The pass was intercepted by Falcons defensive back Dee Alford and returned 59 yards into Saints territory. Zane Gonzalez’s 48-yard field goal with just under three minutes remaining in the game put Atlanta ahead by nine points. Game over.

    The Falcons defeated the Saints 24-10 on November 23. During that game, Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, a serious candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year, passed for 243 yards with an interception while being sacked five times. Atlanta will finish the 2025 season among the top three teams in sacks and set a new franchise record with 55 sacks following a second-quarter sack by defensive back Dee Alford. But it was the Saints’ defense that got things started.

    The New Orleans Saints (above) came into Sunday’s game in Atlanta on a four-game winning streak.
    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    New Orleans entered the game in Atlanta on a four-game winning streak, and a significant part of that success has been attributed to their defense. New Orleans defensive end Carl Granderson made an immediate impact on Sunday, sacking Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins and picking off one of his passes during the first quarter. 

    Offense was a different story as the Saints got off to a much slower start than their defense. New Orleans was without its leading receiver, Chris Olave, and starting running back, Alvin Kamara. Both players have played well in Atlanta throughout their time with the Saints. The Falcons, however, had their top receiver, Drake London, back in the fold. Cousins found London in the back of the end zone for the first touchdown of the game to help give Atlanta a 7-0 lead with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. The 15-yard touchdown reception was London’s seventh of the season. 

    The Atlanta Falcons hosted the New Orleans Saints in the final home game and regular season game of the season.
    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    The second successful Falcons offensive drive was an eight-play, 31-yard drive that included a couple of spectacular runs by Bijan Robinson. Those runs put Atlanta in position for a 40-yard field goal from kicker Zane Gonzalez and a 10-0 advantage. 

    Robinson only needed 237 yards to set a new National Football League single-season record for yardage from scrimmage. In just his third season, Robinson had already set a Falcons franchise record a week earlier. 

    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    The Saints got on the board with 5 minutes remaining in the first half when Shough scored a touchdown on a bootleg run from the 15-yard line. The extra point from Charlie Smyth made the score 10-7. 

    With two minutes remaining in the first half, the Saints’ offense failed to engineer a final scoring drive and put the ball back in the hands of Cousins and the Falcons with 45 seconds on the clock. Atlanta went into the half with the same score on the board.

    The third quarter began with the Falcons forcing a Saints punt following a sack by Pearce, Jr. The rookie has 9.5 sacks this season to go along with 5.5 sacks by his fellow rookie Jalon Walker. The pair has more than lived up to the expectations that were placed on them during the offseason and preseason. 

    Scoring was minimal during the game. Atlanta took a 13-7 lead on a 51-yard field goal by Zane Gonazelz early in the third quarter and a 16-10 lead when Gonzalez made a 38-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. 

    New Orleans managed to pull together another scoring drive with just over a minute to play in the game. Their onside kick attempt was not as successful.

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • ‘I think it was a BS call’: Panthers react to Lathan Ransom’s late flag

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    NEW ORLEANS

    It is one of the most difficult decisions any defensive player makes, when a quarterback is running and your task is to bring him to the ground.

    How much is too much? How hard is too hard? How high is too high?

    The Carolina Panthers were on the wrong side of that equation Sunday when they self-destructed in a 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints that was damaging — but not fatal — to their playoff hopes. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the final 12 seconds.

    The Saints were out of timeouts by then. The game was tied at 17-all, and New Orleans had driven from its own 8-yard line to the Carolina 48. Tyler Shough, the Saints’ 26-year-old rookie quarterback, saw a “prevent” Carolina defense designed to stop the pass — with no defensive linemen at all lined up in the interior near the center.

    Shough then ran a draw play for a modest four yards. As he slid, however, Panthers rookie safety Lathan Ransom came barreling in and hit Shough. This caused a 15-yard penalty and much consternation in the Carolina locker room.

    “I think it was a BS call,” Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown said. Brown was also called for a 15-yard penalty for hitting Shough on a similar play.

    “He did it all day, he was sliding late,” Brown said. “… But we know how it is. They’re going to protect the quarterback at all costs.”

    New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) slides and is hit by the Carolina Panthers’ Lathan Ransom (22) during Sunday’s fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Ransom’s hit resulted in a 15-yard penalty and an easier potential game-winning field goal for the Saints, who won, 20-17.
    New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) slides and is hit by the Carolina Panthers’ Lathan Ransom (22) during Sunday’s fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Ransom’s hit resulted in a 15-yard penalty and an easier potential game-winning field goal for the Saints, who won, 20-17. Chris Graythen Getty Images

    The Saints certainly could have made a game-winning field goal from where Shough slid. The attempt would have been from 62 yards, and New Orleans kicker Charlie Smyth has that sort of leg.

    Instead, though, Ransom’s penalty made the kick a modest 47-yarder. Smyth drilled it, and Carolina fell to 7-7 and into a tie with Tampa Bay (7-7) atop the NFC South. The two teams will play twice in the final three weeks of the season, but now the Panthers may have to sweep those games rather than split them to take the playoff spot and postseason home game awarded to the division winner.

    To his credit, Ransom stood up and faced questions from the media in the locker room. “Every yard matters in that situation,” he said. “He’s running the ball and I’m just thinking stop him as fast as I can.”

    What does he wish he had done differently?

    “Not hit him,” Ransom said. And later: “I’m mad I got the penalty. That’s all I can say.

    He’s a quarterback, so I’ve got to be more aware of the situation. … Let him slide.”

    Lathan Ransom (22) of the Carolina Panthers tackles Audric Estime (30) of the New Orleans Saints during Sunday’s fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome.
    Lathan Ransom (22) of the Carolina Panthers tackles Audric Estime (30) of the New Orleans Saints during Sunday’s fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Chris Graythen Getty Images

    That a penalty would be instrumental in the Panthers’ loss was fitting, given the team was called for 11 penalties for 103 yards. Carolina was sloppy all afternoon, drawing one flag after another. Even on the game-winning field goal, Carolina’s Chau Smith-Wade jumped offside, so New Orleans would have been able to try it again had Smyth missed.

    But the veteran Panthers players were also aware that Ransom’s error didn’t cost them the game. Their defense, after all, had allowed New Orleans to go 78 yards on a game-tying drive and then 62 more on the game-winning one. The offense never scored in the game’s final 25 minutes. There was plenty of blame to go around.

    Veteran safety Nick Scott said Ransom’s aggressiveness was one reason he’s been playing regularly as a rookie.

    “Being a rookie, there’s a lot of highs and lows,” Scott said. “Lathan’s been doing a lot of great things for us this entire season. One play doesn’t define him. … Latham is an aggressive player. He hits extremely hard. He makes a lot of plays, and that’s why he’s here. That’s why we love him, and so we don’t want to take that away from him. So we’re going to keep encouraging and uplifting him, and help him move past this.”

    Brown thought that Panthers quarterback Bryce Young should have drawn a similar flag or two during his scrambles. But he wasn’t. Ransom, however, was called for the late hit, and this loss and that play will sting him for a while.

    I thought the flag was justified. It’s called that way in the NFL almost every time, because the league does want to protect its marquee players. Ransom is a good player and a smart one. He will learn. But he — and his teammates — walked out of New Orleans hurting.

    Scott Fowler

    The Charlotte Observer

    Columnist Scott Fowler has written for The Charlotte Observer since 1994. He has earned 24 national APSE sportswriting awards and hosted The Observer’s podcast “Carruth,” which Sports Illustrated once named “Podcast of the Year.” Fowler hosts the online series and podcast “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” which features 1-on-1 interviews with NC and SC sports icons. He also writes occasionally about non-sports subjects, such as the 5-part series “9/11/74,” which chronicled the plane crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 in Charlotte in 1974.
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    Scott Fowler

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  • No. 11 Clemson tries to stay perfect in ACC play and against Louisville on Saturday night

    No. 11 Clemson tries to stay perfect in ACC play and against Louisville on Saturday night

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    Louisville (5-3, 3-2 ACC) at No. 11 Clemson (6-1, 5-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

    BetMGM College Football Odds: Clemson by 10 by 2 1/2.

    Series record: Clemson leads 8-0.

    What’s at stake?

    Clemson has been on a tear since losing its opener to then-No. 1 Georgia, winning six in a row by lopsided margins. The Tigers must keep winning as one of four ACC teams still undefeated in league play to stay on track for a return to the championship game. Louisville had hoped to be in the mix, too, but has lost to ranked opponents in Miami and SMU to fall off the pace.

    Key matchup

    Louisville QB Tyler Shough vs. Clemson’s defensive line. The Tigers have taken advantage of opponents not nearly as offensively skilled as them to open big leads. That’s unlikely to happen with the Cardinals, who are averaging 460 yards and 36 points a game. Clemson needs to get pressure on Shough, the Texas Tech transfer who’s has four 300-yard passing games this season.

    Players to watch

    Louisville: RB Isaac Brown is a freshman who’s run for 649 yards, second only to Heisman Trophy winner and NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who ran for 960 yards as a freshman in 2015. Brown’s yards are the most nationally among freshmen and his six TDs on the ground are tied for second.

    Clemson: LB Wade Woodaz leads the Tigers with 53 tackles and eight quarterback pressures. He’s also forced three fumbles and is tied for the top with freshman Sammy Brown with 6.5 tackles for loss this season.

    Facts & figures

    Clemson is looking to go 9-0 all-time against the Cardinals. … Louisville has about as balanced an offense as possible this season, running 244 times with 14 TDs and throwing it 246 times for 18 scores. … The Tigers have rushed for at least one touchdown in 57 straight home games, the longest such current streak in the country. … Shough, who is in his seventh year after stops at Oregon and the Red Raiders, has so far thrown for a career-high 2,348 yards and 20 touchdowns. … Clemson passer Cade Klubnik has also had a stellar year this season with a career-high 20 TD throws. … The Tigers have won their past 22 home games played at night. Their last loss was a 51-14 defeat at Death Valley to Florida State in 2013.

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  • Texas Tech opens McGuire’s 3rd season with first game against Abilene Christian since 1949

    Texas Tech opens McGuire’s 3rd season with first game against Abilene Christian since 1949

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    Abilene Christian at Texas Tech, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

    BetMGM College Football Odds: No line.

    Series record: Abilene Christian leads 6-3.

    WHAT’S AT STAKE?

    Texas Tech opens coach Joey McGuire’s third season with its first game against Abilene Christian since 1949. That is an FCS program only about 170 miles from Lubbock. The Red Raiders lost in double overtime at Wyoming to start last season, and will try to avoid dropping consecutive season openers for the first time in 25 years. Former Texas Tech defensive coordinator Keith Patterson is going into his third season as ACU’s head coach with a 12-10 record.

    KEY MATCHUP

    Red Raiders running back Tahj Brooks ran for 1,538 yards last season, with eight 100-yard games. He also had at least 95 yards in three other games. Abilene Christian gave up 210 yards rushing per game last season. Brooks is 1,167 yards shy of Byron Hanspard’s career school record of 4,219 yards rushing from 1994-96.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Abilene Christian: Maverick McIvor is going into his third season as the Wildcats starting quarterback. He spent three seasons at Texas Tech before that, but never played in a game for the Red Raiders. McIvor threw for 1,972 yards last year with 17 TDs and five interceptions.

    Texas Tech: Junior quarterback Behren Morton started eight games for the Red Raiders last season, and of those seven games that he finished they won six of them. Morton took over for injured Tyler Shough, then played through his own shoulder issues. Morton was a full-go in preseason practice after T ech held him out of the last part of spring drills after he was declared the starter.

    FACTS & FIGURES

    The Red Raiders added three offensive linemen through the transfer portal that arrived with a combined 81 career starts. … Texas Tech is entering its 100th season of football. The seventh game in its program history was a 10-7 win at Abilene Christian on Nov. 11, 1925. … Texas Tech’s Drae McCray led the Big 12 last season averaging 27.6 yards on kickoff returns. He had three returns of at least 50 yards, including a 100-yard touchdown.

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