The New Orleans Saints finally corrected their slow starting issue and even held the lead after the first quarter for the first time in the Kellen Moore era, but late mistakes doomed that effort in a 35-27 loss to the Raiders. The Saints turned the ball over on four of their final five possessions.
That final turnover, a fumble, came after quarterback Tyler Shough connected with tight end Juwan Johnson only to have the ball punched out by Nakobe Dean and recovered by the Raiders, who then ran out the clock. The game also featured a Shough fumble that looked dubiously like the Jared Goff non fumble from the opener, and a host of other questionable or seemingly missed calls.
“The turnovers in the fourth quarter got us and we weren’t able to overcome those. These guys finished better than us," head coach Kellen Moore said. There’s a lot of good stuff on this film, but unfortunately we didn’t get it done collectively.”
Things did start well for the Saints in this one when Shough connected with Johnson with 50 seconds remaining in the opening frame for a touchdown and a 6-3 lead. Daniel Carlson's PAT was blocked. The score marked the first time this season the Saints have scored in the first quarter and the first time since December 8, 2024 -- a road win against the New York Giants -- that the Saints led after 15 minutes of play.
That lead disappeared quickly, though, as did the 27-16 lead the Saints held midway through the third quarter. The Raiders (3-0) scored 19 unanswered points in the final 17:26 of the game, benefitting from an interception and three fumbles.
Shough finished the day 29 of 42 for 255 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. All four touchdowns went to tight ends, with Johnson and Noah Fant each catching two apiece. Shough also rushed for 36 yards, matching RB Alvin Kamara’s total. Travis Etienne led all Saints rushers with 57 yards but left early with a hamstring injury. He dealt with a hamstring issue throughout the week. Chris Olave led the Saints’ receiving corps with 107 yards on nine catches, and he now has an impressive total of 375 yards through three games.
Etienne was one of several players who left early with an injury. The Saints also finished the game without Pete Werner (stinger) and DE Anfernee Jennings (knee).
The Saints’ offense had an inauspicious start, going three-and-out on their opening drive, setting up a punt and a Raiders’ drive that led to a field goal midway through the first quarter.
New Orleans rebounded on the following drive. Shough gave the Saints the spark they needed when he scrambled a career-long 36 yards to the Las Vegas 32. An illegal shift five plays later nearly derailed the Saints drive, but Shough connected with Chris Olave on third and long for a 12-yard gain, extending the drive and putting the ball at the Raiders’ six-yard line. Three plays later, Shough found Johnson in the end zone for the two-yard touchdown. The Raiders blocked kicker Daniel Carlson’s extra point attempt, keeping the score at 6-3.
The Saints’ lead was short-lived.
The Saints gifted the Raiders possession at the 40-yard line when Carlson failed to put his kickoff in the landing zone. Despite Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins completing three passes for 31 yards during the drive, an offensive offside call ground the drive to a halt, forcing the Raiders to settle for a second Matt Gay field goal at the 11:30 mark of the second quarter, tying the score at 6-6.
The Raiders got the ball back quickly following a Saints’ three-and-out and they capitalized on two major penalties to regain the lead. Two Cousins passes, one to Michael Mayer and another to Brock Bowers, put the ball at the Saints’ 21-yard line. A pass interference call followed by a roughing the passer call set up a three-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Mayer at the 5:49 mark in the second quarter. Bowers was a constant thorn in the Saints' side in his season debut, hauling in 10 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown and coming up big seemingly every time the Raiders needed it.
New Orleans answered with a scoring drive of their own. Three Travis Etienne runs for a total of 11 yards set up four big Shough passes ahead of the two-minute warning. The first two passes went to Olave for a total of 29 yards. Shough followed that with completions to tight end Noah Fant for nine yards and to Johnson for 14 yards. Three plays later, Shough found Fant in the front of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown and Carlson's PAT was good to tie the game at 13 with 1:54 remaining in the first half.
Cousins burnt the Saints defense multiple times during the final drive of the half. He connected with Bowers, running back Ashton Jeanty, and tight end Tre Tucker for 11 yards each before finding Bowers again for 15 yards with less than a minute to go in the second quarter. The Saints appeared to force the Raiders into a fourth-down situation late in the drive, but a late hit penalty against Justin Reid kept the drive alive. The defense held to a short field goal, and the Saints went into the half trailing 16-13, the third time in as many games they've been behind at the half.
The Raiders were unable to extend their lead after halftime, going three and out, and the Saints responded with an 87-yard touchdown drive to regain the lead. Alvin Kamara rushed for 13 yards and Travis Etienne contributed 10 of his own. Shough completed eight passes to six different receivers, including a 1-yard touchdown pass to Johnson.
Special teams came through on the next drive with DE Anfernee Jennings stripping the ball from return man Dylan Laube. Defensive back Jordan Howden recovered the fumble, giving the Saints possession at the Las Vegas 32-yard line. Etienne pushed the ball into the red zone with a 16-yard carry on the first play of the drive and Shough found Noah Fant with a 16-yard touchdown pass a few plays later. The Saints looked to be in control, but didn't score again the rest of the way.
The Raiders quickly responded, using a five-play drive to cut the Saints lead to five points. Vegas ripped off big chunks with a 20-yard completion to Bowers and a 36-yard touchdown run by Mike Washington, Jr. The Raiders' 2-point conversion attempt failed.
After the teams traded punts, the Saints regained possession and moved the ball inside the Raiders’ 30-yard line, but regained the ball after the officials ruled that Shough fumbled the ball during his windup when Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce stripped the ball. Defensive end Maxx Crosby recovered the loose ball at the Las Vegas 45-yard line. Six plays later, Cousins found Jeanty for a 4-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders a 28-27 lead with 9:21 left and the Raiders failed on another 2-point conversion attempt.
On the ensuing drive, Tyler Shough appeared to have his arm hit as he threw and the ball landed in the hands of Raiders rookie CB Hezekiah Masses, who returned the pick 35 yards to the New Orleans 8 yard line. It was the third interception in the past two games for the reigning defensive player of the week. Three plays later, Cousins found Bowers in the front left corner of the end zone to extend the Raiders’ lead. Gay’s extra point gave the Raiders a 35-27 lead with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter.
The Saints drove to the Raiders’ 21-yard line on the following drive, but safety Jeremy Chinn sacked Shough on fourth down, forcing another fumble. Las Vegas with two minutes left in regulation. The Saints’ defense forced the Raiders to punt the ball with about 100 seconds left in the game. Five plays in to the drive, Johnson fumbled the ball after making a catch, allowing the Raiders to recover and kneel out the clock.
Cousins finished the day completing 22 of 33 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Bowers was the Raiders’ leading receiver with 116 yards and a score. Jeanty and Washington were relatively even in the rushing category. Jeanty ran for 56 yards, while Washington rushed for 54.
The Saints host the Atlanta Falcons next Monday night. The Raiders host the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday.
