NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Rookie Tyler Shough took another important step in his growth as an NFL quarterback by showing he could improvise effectively under pressure and in the clutch.
New Orleans’ defense continued to show it could consistently put forth solid performances highlighted by multiple fourth-down stops and an interception.
Not only did it add up to a surprising victory on the road and in the rain at NFC South-leading Tampa Bay, but it provided coach Kellen Moore evidence that his players haven't quit on him during his difficult first season in charge.
“This was a big-time example of having awesome guys on our team,” Moore said Monday after reviewing video of New Orleans' 24-20 triumph. “You have every reason to get distracted when you have the record that we have, and for them to prepare and put themselves in a really good position to be successful on Sunday was awesome.”
The victory was just the third for the Saints (3-10), who still need three more victories to improve on their 5-12 mark in 2024.
“Resiliency is part of the NFL,” said Moore, who was the offensive coordinator for the 2024 champion Philadelphia Eagles last season. “It's an important aspect for our guys to be able to cope with it and navigate it individually and collectively as well.”
As for Shough, his passing numbers were a relatively modest 13 of 20 for 144 yards without a touchdown and one interception. But he also ran for 55 yards and two touchdowns — and his second score came on a play in which he escaped what looked like an imminent sack.
“His legs obviously came alive and became a huge impact on this game, which we needed in those conditions,” Moore said.
“We always look at the throwing aspect of it, but I think it's all the other little things,” Moore said, such as understanding the blocking assignments and recognizing potential matchup issues.
“You have to factor in all this mental part of it and then you have to go execute the play at a high level,” Moore said.
The Bucs outgained the Saints in total yards, but the Saints kept Bucs QB Baker Mayfield's passing game in check and got some pivotal stops. They also made plays on special teams, including Mason Tipton's 54-yard kickoff return, which helped set up a TD.
“When you look down the sideline and see the energy that we're playing with, I think that's what says a lot about this group of guys,” Tipton said. “It was a rainy day, tough conditions, but you just got to see the grit that everybody plays with.”
Defensively, the Saints now rank sixth in the NFL against the pass. After limiting Mayfield to 14 completions on 30 attempts for 122 yards passing, New Orleans is giving up an average of 182.6 yards per game through the air.
The Saints' defense was unusually porous against the run at Tampa Bay, giving up a season-high 179 yards on the ground. Some of that had to do with Mayfield's scrambling. He rushed for 42 yards.
In addition to Shough, rookie running back Devin Neal contributed 84 yards and a touchdown from scrimmage, with 70 yards on the ground to go with a 14-yard catch.
“I love his energy. I love his juice,” Moore said of Neal.
“One of the most impressive aspects, being a young guy, is how prepared he is," Moore added. "Protections is usually the thing that keeps all these young guys off the field earlier in their careers as running backs — and that's the least of our problems with him.”
Meanwhile, defensive end Carl Granderson made two tackles behind the line of scrimmage — one of them on fourth and 1.
While Taysom Hill remains a main cog on special teams, he struggled to contribute offensively for a second straight game. He rushed twice for minus-1 yard and was unable to catch either of just two passes thrown his way.
Running back Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle), right tackle Taliese Fuaga (ankle), and safety Justin Reid (knee) will continue rehabbing injuries this week that kept them all out of the lineup in Tampa Bay.
28 — The number of consecutive games in which the Saints have scored just seven or fewer first-quarter points. They are 6-22 in those games, during which they have been held scoreless in the first quarter 15 times.
The Saints host Carolina on Sunday for their final meeting this season with the Panthers, who entered this week tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) carries for a touchdown past Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Rashad Wisdom (38) in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) celebrates after an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Charli XCX is making a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January. The pop singer-songwriter appears in three films premiering at the 2026 festival, including a mockumentary that she produced and stars in. Programmers on Wednesday unveiled a lineup of 90 feature films set for the festival’s last hurrah in Park City, Utah.
The slate includes documentaries on basketball great Brittney Griner, Nelson Mandela, Salman Rushdie, Courtney Love and Billie Jean King. There are starry features with the likes of Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Seth Rogen, Channing Tatum, Danielle Brooks, Olivia Colman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Alexander Skarsgård and Ethan Hawke. Olivia Wilde directs her first feature since “Don’t Worry Darling,” in “The Invite.” Judd Apatow chronicles comedian Maria Bamford’s mental health journey. And Gregg Araki will be back in Park City with a restoration of his 2004 coming-of-age drama “Mysterious Skin” and a new film as well.
“It’s a broad, eclectic and bold program,” Sundance public programming director Eugene Hernandez told The Associated Press. He said the lineup for the festival's final year in Park City “really honors that well with this mixture of new, exciting voices paired with some really, really great familiar faces from Sundances past that I think will create a great alchemy for this really unique edition in Utah.”
Ever a festival of discovery, of the 90 features culled from 4,255 submissions, 40% are from first-time directors. The programmers laugh when they hear people say things like “that’s a Sundance movie,” as if it’s one, easily categorizable thing.
“I look at the films in this program and say, ‘You tell me what a Sundance film is’ because they’re so different,” said programmer John Nein.
Charli XCX plays a rising pop star prepping for her first arena tour in the mockumentary “The Moment,” which Hernandez said is “like her version of ‘This is Spinal Tap’.” She also appears in Araki’s “I Want Your Sex,” in which Cooper Hoffman plays an intern who gets wrapped up in the world of an artist and provocateur (Wilde). And she’s among the ensemble of “The Gallerist.”
“There’s a sense of humor that she has about herself and her work, but also a creativity and a star quality that is apparent. I mean, she is magnetic on the screen,” Hernandez said. “It’s great to have someone who represents sort of a next generation of creativity embracing the world that we inhabit.”
This year’s slate includes more than a few exciting comedies in unexpected places. Cathy Yan directed and co-wrote “The Gallerist,” a satirical look at the art world and attempting to sell a corpse at Art Basel Miami, with a large ensemble including Portman, Ortega, Sterling K. Brown and Zach Galifianakis. David Wain also has “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” about a woman out to even the score after her fiance uses the “free pass,” starring Zoey Deutch and Jon Hamm.
Programmer Kim Yutani said she thinks “Wicker,” about a woman who asks a basket maker to weave her a husband, starring Colman and Skarsgård, will be a big crowd pleaser.
Other standouts are Jay Duplass’s grief-themed “See You When I See You,” with Cooper Raiff and David Duchovny, “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!” set inside Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene and Wilde’s “The Invite,” about a crumbling marriage in which she stars alongside Rogen.
“They are finding comedy in some of the toughest places,” Nein said.
In the Midnight section, there’s “Buddy,” from “Too Many Cooks” creator Casper Kelly, about a girl who has to escape a kids TV show. There are some quirky, humorous documentaries too, including “Joybubbles” and John Wilson’s “The History of Concrete.”
Sundance has become famous for its documentary programming, many of which go on to be nominated for and win Oscars. This year is likely to be no different.
“Across the board, both in the U.S. and internationally, you have a program that deals with the world where it is right now,” Nein said. “These documentaries, they're incredibly sophisticated, they’re very mindful of how complex world issues are, and they bring you into that process.”
One that might make waves is “When A Witness Recants,” in which author Ta-Nehisi Coates revisits the case of the 1983 murder of a boy in his Baltimore middle school and learns the truth. “American Doctor” follows three professionals trying to help in Gaza. “All About the Money” looks at heir-turned -communist Fergie Chambers. Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell take on artificial intelligence in “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” and “Sentient” is about animal testing.
“A lot of them are sort of optimistic in one sense, in that they’re about people power,” Nein said. “It’s about the power of community to affect change, the power of one person who you haven’t heard of necessarily.”
Those include “Jane Elliott Against the World,” about an Iowa schoolteacher who taught anti-discrimination in 1968, and “Seized,” about the police raid on the Marion County Record in Kansas.
New talents often emerge from Sundance, like Eva Victor last year with “Sorry, Baby.” This year programmers noted several gems in the lineup, including Beth de Araújo’s “Josephine,” about an 8-year-old who witnesses a crime, with Tatum and Gemma Chan.
TV veteran Molly Manners’ “Extra Geography,” about boarding school friends in England, is one that Nein said is one of the funniest, most sophisticated debut features that he’s seen from the U.K. in years.
He also spotlighted “LADY,” a first feature from Nigerian filmmaker Olive Nwosu about a cab driver in Lagos, as well as the queer genre film “Leviticus.”
As in years past, the Sundance competition titles will also be available to watch online. Yutani said her go-to recommendation for the remote audience is the world dramatic competition title “Levitating,” from Indonesian director Wregas Bhanuteja.
“It’s set in this community where there’s these trance parties,” Yutani said. “It is a thrilling film.”
This year’s festival will also honor its late founderRobert Redford with legacy screenings and serve as a celebration of its 40+ years in Park City before it relocates to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.
The 2026 festival kicks off on Jan. 22 and runs through Feb. 1.
FILE - The marquee of the Egyptian Theatre appears during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)
