New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough made a big splash during the game against the Los Angeles Rams. He led a 71-yard drive in just six plays, finishing it off with his first career touchdown pass to tight end Juwan Johnson in the final minutes of the first half of the game. But that moment came at a cost.

The Saints’ QB took a hard hit before the play, likely when Rams outside linebacker Byron Young struck him on the helmet. Though Shough appeared composed at the time, he suffered a serious hit to his jaw.

“Tyler Shough said he couldn’t close his jaw properly until yesterday because he got hit hard in the face during that sack on Sunday,” Saints reporter Katherine Terrell wrote on X.

However, Shough is taking it all in stride. He is staying positive even through the pain and tough treatments.

“He said he got treatment via needles to his face/jaw area. “Hurt like s—,” he said. “But it’s all part of it,’” the post read.

Perhaps this was the motivation for the Louisville product, who threw for 176 yards, completing 15 of 24 passes. After the game, head coach Kellen Moore also praised the QB for staying “calm” during tough moments.

“I thought he handled some adverse situations really well, which is obviously a positive going into these situations,” he said.

It was just a few days ago, the coach decided that Shough would replace quarterback Spencer Rattler for the starting job. This was after the Saints were handed a tough defeat by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And while Shough’s first start showed plenty of promise, the Rams dominated possession.

The Saints had the ball for just 16 minutes and 7 seconds, which is their lowest time of possession in franchise history. Speaking of the game, Shough said, “Disappointing result, but just proud of the way we fought throughout the whole game.” “We didn’t get a lot of opportunities, and when we had them, we didn’t take advantage to the best of our ability.”

Despite best efforts, the Saints were handed a 34-10 loss, but Shough’s steady performance gave a reason to be hopeful as they get ready to face the Carolina Panthers in Week 9.

Tyler Shough shares more details about his first career TD

During his latest conversation with Mike Hoss on WWL Radio, Shough opened up about his TD. The play was for wide receiver Devaughn Vele on the right, but the Rams had him covered. So, Shough looked to the other side, where wide receiver Chris Olave was also double-covered. And instead, he found his former Oregon teammate, Johnson.

“It was hard for sure,” the QB shared. “When you’ve got to clock winding down, you’re trying to throw this ball to Vele, the big target in the red zone to kind of choke it down and then also move onto the next one and, especially to get that first touchdown to Juwan was pretty cool.”

He even shared that he didn’t feel nervous or hesitant about his first start. He was confident about his decisions in the field. And this was evident in the second half, as Shough continued to make the right decisions. The Saints couldn’t find the end zone again, though they did reach the red zone in the fourth quarter before being stopped on fourth down.

That’s also when Shough threw his only interception of the game. But now, after the loss, Shough isn’t demotivated. He has kept his hopes and spirits high. And he will look to bring down the same energy in week 10.