Saints vs. Ravens: Tyler Shough's Fourth-Down Sneak Stuns Lamar Jackson and Baltimore in Week 2

Two snaps. Two piles. One inch of disagreement. Tyler Shough got swallowed by a wall of purple at the Baltimore goal line on third down and was ruled short. On fourth down he did it again, the officials signaled touchdown, and the call survived a replay review.

That sneak, with 1:28 left, lifted the New Orleans Saints over the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. Julian Blackmon picked off Lamar Jackson with 13 seconds remaining to seal it, and a week after an overtime heartbreak in Detroit, Kellen Moore's team is 1-1. So are the Ravens.

Field Goals, Frustration and a Fourth-Quarter Flip

For three quarters, Baltimore looked like the better team. Derrick Henry capped a 12-play, 76-yard march with a 1-yard plunge in the first quarter. New Orleans stalled at the 5 and settled for a 23-yard Daniel Carlson field goal on fourth-and-3, and Jackson answered with a 22-yard touchdown strike to Rashod Bateman with 24 seconds left in the half. 14-3, and the Ravens were rolling.

Then rookie Barion Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards, Carlson banged home a 47-yarder at the gun, and the Saints opened the third quarter with a 51-yard Carlson kick. Suddenly it was 14-9. Tyler Loop answered from 49 at the end of a 14-play, 7:37 grind to make it 17-9.

Baltimore had a chance to bury them. Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green each got home for sacks on a New Orleans three-and-out, and the Ravens took over at the Saints 49 late in the third quarter. Instead, they lost 16 yards in three snaps and punted.

The Saints pounced. Shough hit Chris Olave for a 21-yard touchdown with 9:42 left, and Travis Etienne Jr. followed Juwan Johnson into the end zone on the 2-point try, which a Ravens penalty had moved up to the 1, to tie it at 17. Baltimore went three-and-out again after Jackson took a deep shot on third-and-1 that Kool-Aid McKinstry knocked away from Chris Moore.

"A play that we liked, thought we had a shot there for an explosive," Ravens coach Jesse Minter said.

Shough Is Becoming Must-See TV

Shough completed 27 of 34 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. In the fourth quarter alone he was 12 of 14 for 119 yards. Through two games he has 662 passing yards, the most for a Saints quarterback to open a season since Drew Brees threw for 669 in 2009.

That's quite the resume for a player who had to hear all about a "poor man's Josh Allen" headline tied to Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Shough said the coaches kept needling him about it.

"A bunch of the coaches were telling me about it the whole time, just called me 'poor man' and I loved it," Shough said.

Olave led the way with eight catches for 86 yards. Juwan Johnson added four grabs for 66, and Devaughn Vele chipped in five for 64. Alvin Kamara made his season debut with 15 yards on nine carries.

On defense, Pete Werner had 11 tackles and a sack, Chase Young added 1.5 sacks, and Carl Granderson blocked a field goal. After halftime, New Orleans held Baltimore to 40 rushing yards. Henry finished with 68 on 16 carries, Jackson went 21 of 31 for 235 yards with a touchdown and the late interception, and Bateman caught seven passes for 88 yards.

Third Down, Fourth Down, Instant Classic

The winning drive was a masterclass in stubbornness. New Orleans took over at its own 32 with 8:06 remaining and went 68 yards in 16 plays over 6:38, picking up two third downs and two fourth downs. The biggest was a third-and-8 dump-off to Johnson, who turned it into a big gain and put New Orleans in scoring position. Soon the Saints had first down at the 2.

Then the drive got weird. A false start backed the Saints up to the 7, an incomplete pass let Baltimore stop the clock, and Shough eventually found himself at the bottom of two consecutive goal-line piles that looked like a Where's Waldo page drawn by a defensive line coach. Moore didn't blink at fourth down.

"Obviously we're going to go for it in that situation. Chance to score a touchdown. If not, we're forcing them to be on the minus-1 and go the long way," Moore said.

The Saints had to sweat out the review, but the call held.

"We exhausted all available angles and could not prove clear and obvious that he did not break the plane of the goal line," NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth told a pool reporter.

Etienne put it simply. "Whenever you need an inch in the NFL, you've got to be able to get that."

Stats That Matter

• 10 to 2: Saints first downs compared with Baltimore's in the fourth quarter.
• 16 plays, 68 yards: The go-ahead drive, which ate 6:38.
• 662: Shough's passing yards through two games, the most for a Saints quarterback since Brees in 2009.
• 15: Unanswered points New Orleans scored to close the game.
• 3-6: Baltimore's home record last season.

What It Means in New Orleans and Baltimore

For the Saints, this was the payoff after a brutal opener. They trailed Detroit 21-0 in the second half, rallied to force overtime and lost when a 2-point try for the win came up short. Two weeks, two one-possession finishes, and Shough is now 6-5 as a starter.

"Our guys stuck with it all the way to the end, both games," Moore said. "For both games to come down to one opportunity at the end, one possession, it's a good experience for our guys."

The Saints lost left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. (ankle) and cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. (shoulder) during the game, and they open their home schedule against Las Vegas next Sunday.

The alarm is louder in Baltimore. A week after a 41-23 win at Indianapolis in Minter's debut, Baltimore's fourth quarter looked like a rerun of the late fades and home stumbles that cost John Harbaugh's staff their jobs. They played without top receiver Zay Flowers and lost offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley to a toe issue in the second half. Dallas awaits in Rio de Janeiro next Sunday.

Ball Don't Lie

Shough, for his part, kept it light. "We'd like to not make it as close," he said.

Chase Young, asked if he sweated the review, offered the cleanest summary of the day: "Ball don't lie, man." Baltimore can argue the angles all it wants. New Orleans will just keep the tape.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and NewOrleansSaints.com. Additional game notes from NewOrleansSaints.com.