Mike Tyson famously said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

For Tyler Shough, that might just be the plan.

Shough and the New Orleans Saints are 1-1, with both games following a similar format. The Saints go down early as Shough struggles, but then catch fire late to force a dramatic conclusion. 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, only to see a 62-yard field goal attempt from Daniel Carlson sail wide right at the end of regulation, and a two-point attempt in overtime come up empty, leaving the final scorer 31-30 in favor of Detroit.

Then in Week 2, Shough and the Saints trailed the Baltimore Ravens 17-9 as the fourth quarter began, but used 15-unanswered points to g o into Baltimore and defeat the Ravens by a final score of 24-17.

Yes, there was a somewhat controversial ruling on a fourth-down touchdown sneak from Shough with under two minutes remaining, but the ruling stood, and the Saints were suddenly 1-1.

Shough’s own production has followed that same pattern: Start slow, end red-hot. Against the Lions in Week 1, Shough was 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, over the second half and into overtime.

Against Baltimore in Week 2, Shough connected on 12-of-15 passes for 102 yards in the first half, but connected on 15-of-19 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in the second half.

Isolating just the fourth quarter this season, Shough has completed 24-of-31 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns this season, without an interception. That is good for an NFL Passer Rating of 125.3, and an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 9.59.

NFL league averages in those two categories are 94.7 and 6.4, respectively.

While you never apologize for wins in the NFL, and a 1-1 start has the Saints right in the mix of things in the NFC South, Saints fans are rightfully asking: Is this sustainable?

Given what we have seen, it just might be.

Certainly teams do not want to build the entire season out of comebacks and fourth quarters alone, but there is something of a roadmap for the 2026 Saints to follow if they try and do just that. That roadmap? The 2025 Chicago Bears, who rode seven comeback wins — six in the regular season and one more on Wild Card Weekend — to the Divisional Round a year ago.

Returning to Shough, some of his best moments this year, from a film perspective, have come in these fourth-quarter comebacks. Take this fourth-down conversion against the Lions to extend a drive:

Detroit brings a blitz off the right edge, and it leads to a free runner at the quarterback. But Shough deftly steps up in the pocket and around the pressure, before firing a strike to rookie wide receiver Bryce Lance to move the chains. Perhaps the best part of this play? The ball security. As he steps up in the pocket Shough keeps both hands glued to the football, which prevents a potential strip-sack as Roger McCreary manages to get a hand on Shough as he blitzes off the edge.

Then there was this deep shot to Chris Olave, with Shough staring down yet another free runner:

Detroit uses a stunt off the right side of the offense to spring Aidan Hutchinson free, but Shough has the toughness — both physical and mental — to stare down the free runner and deliver this downfield throw to Olave, who finishes the play through contact himself to give the Saints a first down inside the red zone with under two minutes remaining.

Again, this trend of Shough stepping up in the big moments continued last Sunday. Take this touchdown to Olave, as he hits the wide receiver on a dig route with pristine timing and anticipation:

More than anything else, it is this read and throw that gives me the belief that Shough’s fourth-quarter prowess will not only continue, but grow into the rest of the game script. As we talked about earlier this week regarding another young NFC South quarterback, Bryce Young, timing and anticipation are the tell-tale signs that the game is slowing down for a quarterback.

Here, Shough confirms the split-field coverage and comes right to Olave on his in-breaking route. I love the decision, the timing, and the anticipation on this touchdown throw. This is a confident and decisive quarterback, trusting his view of the field, his read of the coverage, and the concept at his fingertips.

Confident and decisive quarterbacks are successful ones.

That is certainly sustainable.