Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Thursday that New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough reminds him of “a poor man’s Josh Allen,” three days before the teams meet at M&T Bank Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS. Weaver has seen Shough up close. He was Miami’s defensive coordinator last season when the Dolphins beat the Saints 21-17 in Week 13.
Shough completed 68.4 percent of his passes in that game for 239 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Weaver opened his answer at his Thursday press conference with the compliment before attaching the qualifier.
“Yes, I like that kid,” Weaver said. “We played them towards the latter half of the year when I was in Miami last year, and I was impressed with him then as a rookie. He reminds me a little bit of, like, a poor man’s Josh Allen. Has all the arm talent in the world [and] can run. I don’t think he gets enough credit for how good [of] an athlete he is.”
“So, particularly as you get down to the low red [zone], we are constantly going to be conscious of just his ability to scramble and create those extended plays, no different than our guy [Lamar Jackson],” Weaver continued. “I just think the more reps he gets, the more confident he’s going to get in that scheme and with the talent around him. I think they have done a good job of trying to build the talent around him.”
Shough’s opener gave Baltimore plenty of film.
He completed 35 of 56 passes for a career-high 410 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in last Sunday’s 31-30 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions. He fumbled twice and lost one.
New Orleans trailed 21-0 early in the third quarter. All 30 of its points came after halftime. Shough became the third Saints quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a game, joining Drew Brees and Aaron Brooks.
Saints coach Kellen Moore passed on the tying extra point in overtime. Shough’s two-point try to rookie receiver Bryce Lance fell incomplete.
New Orleans selected Shough 40th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Louisville after a seven-year college career at Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville. He took over as the starter in Week 9 and went 5-4.
Across 11 games as a rookie, Shough completed 221 of 327 passes for 2,384 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He added 186 rushing yards and three scores on 45 carries and finished as a finalist for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Allen, the 2024 NFL MVP, has the Buffalo Bills at 2-0 after wins over the Houston Texans (36-31) and Lions (41-31). As a rookie in 2018, he threw for 2,074 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 12 games while rushing for 631 yards and eight scores.
Moore was asked Friday about Weaver’s comparison. His answer was brief.
“I did not see that,” Moore said. “Sorry.”
The Saints (0-1) head to Baltimore with two starters in question. Receiver Chris Olave and defensive end Chase Young (calf) are both listed as questionable after being added to the injury report Thursday and limited Friday.
The Ravens (1-0) opened their first season under head coach Jesse Minter with a 41-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Weaver’s defense allowed two rushing touchdowns to Jonathan Taylor in that game.
Should Olave be unable to go, more of the offense would fall on Shough’s arm and legs against a defense that just spent a week game-planning for both.
Sunday marks the Saints’ second straight road game to open the season, the first time since 2021 that the franchise has started with two games away from home.
