BALTIMORE — Twice in a row, Tyler Shough disappeared into a pile of bodies at the goal line with the game tied late in the fourth quarter.
Officials ruled he was stopped on third down and scored on fourth — it could well have been the reverse — and that was good enough for the New Orleans Saints.
Shough scored on a fourth-down sneak with 1:28 remaining, and the Saints rallied to a 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. After Shough didn't score on third down, New Orleans elected to go for it on fourth instead of kicking for a three-point lead. The second sneak was called a touchdown, and that decision was upheld after a review.
“It's a hard play on the goal line because ... sometimes they lose sight of the football. I think it's a challenging play for everyone,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “Fortunate for us to get that. 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.”
New Orleans (1-1) had first down from the two before a penalty and a costly incomplete pass allowed Baltimore — with only two timeouts left — to stop the clock after the next two plays. Shough finally scored on a one-yard sneak.
The Ravens, who didn't have a first down on either of their previous two drives, made it to the New Orleans 37, but Lamar Jackson's deep pass was intercepted by Julian Blackmon with 13 seconds left.
Baltimore had a 17-9 lead and forced a three-and-out with sacks by Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green. That gave the Ravens the ball at the New Orleans 49 late in the third quarter with a chance to make it a two-score game.
But Baltimore went backwards 16 yards and punted, then the Saints drove to tie it with 9:42 remaining on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Chris Olave. After a penalty on the Ravens (1-1) moved the 2-point conversion to the one-yard line, Travis Etienne Jr. ran the ball in to make it 17-all.
After another Baltimore three-and-out — Jackson curiously threw long on third-and-one and his pass to Chris Moore was broken up by Kool-Aid McKinstry — the Saints took over at their own 32 with 8:06 remaining.
“A play that we liked, thought we had a shot there for an explosive,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. “Obviously, didn’t work out, so it’s always going to be, you know, looking at it after the fact.”
New Orleans then drove about as methodically as possible, converting two third downs and two fourth downs to seize the lead.
“We'd like to not make it as close,” Shough said.
The Saints had to sweat out a review on the touchdown.
“We exhausted all available angles and could not prove clear and obvious that he did not break the plane of the goal line,” Mark Butterworth, NFL vice president of instant replay, told a pool reporter.
Baltimore beat Indianapolis 41-23 in Minter's debut as coach, but in Week 2 the Ravens did many of the things that got John Harbaugh's staff fired, collapsing in the fourth quarter and dropping yet another home game. Baltimore was 3-6 at M&T Bank Stadium last season.
The Ravens were without top receiver Zay Flowers against the Saints. Baltimore did have offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley and John Simpson after their status was in question, but Stanley (toe) left the game in the second half.
New Orleans lost left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. to an ankle injury, but at the end the Saints moved the ball just fine.
Derrick Henry opened the scoring with a one-yard run in the first quarter for Baltimore. After the Saints decided to kick a field goal on fourth-and-three from the five, Baltimore drove 80 yards and took a 14-3 lead on Jackson's 22-yard scoring strike to Rashod Bateman with 24 seconds left in the half.
Barion Brown's 53-yard kickoff return set up a New Orleans field goal before the end of the second quarter, and the Saints started the third with another three points on a 51-yard kick by Daniel Carlson. Tyler Loop connected from 49 for the Ravens to make it 17-9.
Saints go down to the wire, again
New Orleans lost in overtime at Detroit in Week 1 when its attempt at a game-winning two-point conversion failed. This one came down to a huge play near the goal line as well.
The Saints trailed 21-0 in the second half before rallying to force OT against the Lions. Against the Ravens, they had 10 first downs to Baltimore's two in the fourth quarter.
“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.”
Injuries
In addition to Banks, the Saints lost cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. to a shoulder injury.
Up next
Saints: Host Las Vegas next Sunday.
Ravens: Face Dallas in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
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