NEW ORLEANS (AP) New Orleans Saints second-year quarterback Tyler Shough likes to think he has a refined, thoughtful approach to staying calm and in control in the clutch.
He backed it up Sunday against the Cleveland Browns and fellow second-year QB Shedeur Sanders.
Shough threw a 15-yard timed pass to Juwan Johnson toward the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown for New Orleans in overtime, and the desperate Saints stopped a do-or-die 2-point conversion to hold on, 23-22.
“We’re getting to the end of the game, he’s getting better and better,” Saints receiver Chris Olave said of Shough. “He is calm and collected and we have the utmost confidence in Tyler.”
After the Saints (3-5) scored on the first possession of overtime, Cleveland responded when Harold Fannin Jr. turned a short pass from Sanders into a 39-yard tackle-breaking touchdown with a minute left in overtime.
The Browns (5-4) went for a 2-point conversion for the win, but Sanders was forced to roll under pressure from Carl Granderson and threw incompletely, giving the Saints their first home win this season.
“We looked in the mirror and we know what we have to do,” said Granderson, who had two of the Saints’ five sacks. “It’s time to turn things around now and we’re excited for the next one. So stay tuned.”
Cleveland coach Todd Monken said he never considered kicking an extra point.
“You’re probably not going to get the ball. So you’re really saying tie or lose if you score the extra point,” Monken said. “It’s not me. It was win or lose.”
This thrilling finale followed a pedestrian first 54 minutes in which neither team scored a touchdown.
“We very easily could have lost the game and we could be sitting here talking about how we need to be better — and we need to,” Shough said. “Every week it will be a fight.”
The Saints led 9-6 after Charlie Smyth — who made three of four field goal attempts after being elevated to the practice squad this week — split the uprights for 48 yards. But on Cleveland’s next offensive play, Sanders spotted KC Concepcion Jr. passing cornerback Martin Emmerson Jr. and hit him for a 64-yard score with 5:33 left.
The Saints took a late 16-13 lead on newly acquired running back Audric Estime’s 2-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left in the fourth quarter, capping a 55-yard drive that lasted just 50 seconds.
But Sanders, with the help of a 30-yard completion by Jerry Jeudy, was able to move the Browns to the Saints 33, setting up Andre Szmyt’s game-tying 51-yard field goal.
“It was cool to be able to be in that position,” Sanders said. “The moment has never been big, that’s how I know I’m growing as a quarterback in this league.”
Shough finished 21 of 35 for 265 yards and a touchdown.
“I have the most confidence in myself,” Shough said. “But I also know that I still have a lot to do.”
Olave highlighted a seven-catch, 98-yard performance with a 33-yard reception to the 10-yard line to set up the final touchdown for Estime, who finished with 72 yards on 15 carries just five days after being claimed off waivers from Cleveland.
“I just felt like my time was coming,” said Estime, who was on the Saints’ Week 1 roster before being waived in late September. “It was definitely a roller coaster, but that’s just life, honestly. There are ups and downs and it’s how you deal with them.”
Sanders finished 19 of 31 for 297 yards and two touchdowns in his first start this season in place of Deshaun Watson, who sat out after spending part of last week in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Denzel Boston caught six passes for 98 yards and Concepcion had four catches for 85 yards for Cleveland, which has lost two straight.
Poor red zone execution by both teams left the game tied at 3 at halftime.
With two turnovers in the second quarter, the Saints went from being ready to take the lead to needing a defensive stop at their own goal line.
New Orleans had just reached the Cleveland 11 on a 52-yard catch from rookie Barion Brown when fellow teammate Jordyn Tyson — the eighth overall pick in last spring’s NFL draft — followed two plays later with her first career reception inside the 5. But Tyson, making his NFL debut after missing seven games with a hamstring injury, fumbled on the 2 while diving forward.
“He was able to contribute and make positive plays,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said of Tyson, who finished with four receptions for 30 yards. “We are going to have to protect the football, but he will learn from it.”
The New Orleans defense forced a quick punt, but Brown botched his return when Adin Huntington caught him from behind near the Saints 20.
Donovan McMillon recovered for Cleveland, allowing the Browns to also waste a scoring chance when Quinshon Judkins was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Browns: RG Austin Barber was treated on the field for an apparent left leg injury. …S Ronnie Hickman limped into the injury tent late in the fourth quarter.
Saints: C Erik McCoy is out with a biceps injury.
Browns: Host the Houston Texans next Sunday.
Saints: Host the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
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