Tyler Shough threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson in overtime, and the New Orleans Saints stopped a two-point conversion with a minute left to hold off the Cleveland Browns 23-22 on Sunday, November 8, at the Caesars Superdome.
New Orleans improves to 3-5 and won at home for the first time this season. Cleveland drops to 5-4 with its second straight loss after Shedeur Sanders, making his first start of the season in place of Deshaun Watson, matched the Saints score in overtime and went for the win instead of the tie.
Field goals and red-zone misses
Neither team scored a touchdown for the first 54 minutes. Charlie Smyth, promoted from the practice squad this week, kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Saints in the first quarter, and Andre Szmyt answered with a 41-yarder in the second for a 3-3 halftime score.
The second quarter was a mess for New Orleans. Rookie Barion Brown’s 52-yard catch set up the Saints at the Cleveland 11, but fellow rookie Jordyn Tyson, the eighth overall pick making his debut after missing seven games with a hamstring injury, fumbled at the 2 diving forward after his first career catch. After a Browns punt, Brown lost the ball on the return when Adin Huntington caught him from behind, and Donovan McMillon recovered near the Saints 20. Cleveland wasted that chance too, when Quinshon Judkins was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Three touchdowns in the final six minutes
Szmyt and Smyth traded third-quarter field goals, and Smyth’s 48-yarder put the Saints ahead 9-6 with 5:38 to play. On Cleveland’s next snap, Sanders found KC Concepcion behind cornerback Martin Emmerson Jr. for a 64-yard touchdown and a 13-9 lead. New Orleans answered with a 55-yard drive in 50 seconds: Chris Olave’s 33-yard catch reached the 10, and Audric Estime, claimed off waivers from Cleveland five days earlier, ran it in from the 2 with 58 seconds left for a 16-13 lead.
Sanders still had time. A 30-yard completion to Jerry Jeudy moved Cleveland to the Saints 33, and Szmyt hit a 51-yard field goal with eight seconds left to force overtime. “The moment never felt big, so that’s how I know I’m growing as a quarterback in this league,” Sanders said.
Overtime: win or lose
The Saints received the overtime kickoff and drove for the go-ahead score, with Shough lofting a timing throw to Johnson in the right corner of the end zone. Cleveland answered when tight end Harold Fannin Jr. broke tackles on a short pass and went 39 yards for a touchdown with 1:00 left. Coach Todd Monken never considered the extra point. “You’re really saying tie or lose if you kick the extra point,” he said. “That’s not me. It was going to be win or lose.” Carl Granderson flushed Sanders to his right on the two-point try, and the pass fell incomplete.
The numbers
- Shedeur Sanders: 19 of 31 for 297 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, sacked five times.
- Tyler Shough: 21 of 35 for 265 yards and a touchdown, plus 51 rushing yards on 10 carries.
- Chris Olave: seven catches for 98 yards on 12 targets. Audric Estime: 15 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.
- Browns receivers: Denzel Boston had six catches for 98 yards, Concepcion four for 85 and a touchdown, and Fannin two for 42 and a touchdown.
- Defense: Each team had five sacks. Carson Schwesinger had 15 tackles and two sacks for Cleveland, and Myles Harden had two sacks. Granderson had two sacks and Kaden Elliss 11 tackles for New Orleans.
- Kicking: Szmyt 3 for 3 with a long of 51; Smyth 3 for 4 with a long of 48.
- Red zone: Cleveland went 0 for 2 inside the 20; New Orleans lost two fumbles and finished 2 of 5.
What it means
“We looked at ourself in the mirror and we know what we’ve got to do,” Granderson said. “It’s time to turn this thing around now.” Shough admitted the Saints “could have very easily lost the game.” Olave said the young quarterback “gets better and better” late in games.
Browns right guard Austin Barber was treated on the field for a left leg injury and safety Ronnie Hickman limped to the injury tent late in the fourth quarter. Saints center Erik McCoy left with a biceps injury.
What comes next
Cleveland hosts the Houston Texans on Sunday, November 15. New Orleans hosts the Carolina Panthers the same day.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.