Chase Young put together a nice last five games of the year and now he’s been recognized for his performance.
The league named Young NFC defensive player of the month for December and January.
Young posted 19 total tackles with six for loss, 5.0 sacks, and two fumble recoveries — one of which was returned for a touchdown.
In 12 total games this season, Young posted 10.0 sacks with 11 tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits, four passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.
Saints Clips
The Saints took their time before turning to Tyler Shough at quarterback during the 2025 season and General Manager Mickey Loomis doesn’t want to rush any further stages of his development heading into the 2026 campaign.
Shough started the final nine games for the Saints and the team went 5-4 in those contests after starting the year 1-7. Shough completed 67.6 of his passes while throwing for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for three scores.
Loomis and head coach Kellen Moore left no doubt that Shough is their starter as they move into the offseason, but Loomis noted that the team’s excitement about Shough’s start can’t allow them to jump over any parts of the process.
“Again, we’re excited about Tyler . . . but we have to remember that he hasn’t had 17 starts yet, so we’re going to go into next season with these high expectations and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Loomis said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com. “But we also have to temper that by the fact that . . . he’s a second-year quarterback and he’s had less than full season to start. So we’ve got to keep that in mind as we go forward. There are building blocks here and we cannot skip any steps.”
The Saints have the eighth pick in the first round and Shough’s presence will allow them to address other needs with that pick and throughout the offseason.
New Orleans had missed the deadline for bidding on the opportunity to host the 2031 Super Bowl, due to an unresolved lease situation. The NFL has given the city a dispensation.
Via Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the NFL has decided to let New Orleans proceed with an effort to bring the Big Game back to the Big Easy in five years.
The decision was announced after Saints owner Gayle Benson and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry traveled to New York to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“We appreciated the opportunity to meet with Gov. Landry and Mrs. Benson,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Duncan. “It was a very productive meeting, and while our immediate focus is on the upcoming Super Bowls, we can confirm that New Orleans will be part of the consideration process for the Super Bowl to be played in 2031.”
The 2026 Super Bowl will be hosted by San Francisco. The 2027 game will be played in L.A., with the 2028 game happening in Atlanta. Las Vegas and Nashville are believed to be the favorites for 2029 and 2030, respectively.
“We had a very positive and productive meeting, and I am thrilled that we will have the opportunity to bid on the 2031 Super Bowl,” Benson said.
The NFL ended several years ago the process of having multiple cities submit competing bids for each game, opting instead to target one specific city. And it appears that, because New Orleans is back in play for the 2031 game, it will be New Orleans’ game to lose.
New Orleans has staged 11 Super Bowls, starting with Super Bowl IV. New Orleans also hosted Super Bowls VI, IX, XII, XV, XX, XXIV, XXXI, XXXVI, and XLVII. The longest gap happened between XLVII and LIX — 12 years.
If New Orleans gets the 2031 Super Bowl (LXV), the lag will be only six years between games hosted there.
The Falcons won their final game of the regular season and the Panthers did not, but the Panthers will be going to the playoffs as the NFC South champions.
Kirk Cousins threw a touchdown pass to Drake London in the first quarter and Zane Gonzalez made four field goals to propel the Falcons to a 19-17 home win over the Saints. That pushed them to 8-9 on the season and put them in a three-way tie with the Panthers and the Buccaneers at the top of the division.
The Panthers lost to the Bucs on Saturday, but prevailed in the three-way tiebreaker thanks to having the best record in games against the other two 8-9 teams.
Atlanta never trailed after London’s touchdown, but the Saints made it interesting in the final minutes. Rookie Tyler Shough made his last argument for the offensive rookie of the year award by hitting Ronnie Bell for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:11 left to play. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Falcons, however, and that was enough to send the Panthers on to the postseason.
Cousins was 18-of-32 for 180 yards and he also threw an interception during the win. His return to the lineup after Michael Penix’s injury ended with four straight wins and their were enough positives in the veteran’s play to think that he will have suitors in the offseason if the Falcons decide against moving forward with him as at least a contender for the starting role.
The Saints have no such questions. They fell short on Sunday, but won more than they lost after putting Shough in the lineup. He was 23-of-35 for 259 yards on Sunday and also ran three times for 34 yards and a touchdown in an outing that only solidified his spot as the quarterback of the present and future in New Orleans.
Sunday’s game may be the final one Taysom Hill plays with the Saints and it appears his day has come to an early end.
Hill went to the sideline medical tent for a check during the third quarter. He emerged without his helmet or shoulder pads and went back to the locker room with members of the medical staff.
Hill is in the final year of his contract with the Saints. If this is it for him with the Saints, his final contribution was a 13-yard catch to convert a fourth down ahead of a Charlie Smyth field goal.
The kick cut the Falcons’ lead to 13-10 at the end of the third quarter.
UPDATE 3:26 p.m. ET: The Saints call Hill questionable to return with a shoulder injury.
The Falcons and Saints are engaged in something of a proxy war in Atlanta on Sunday as their result matters much more to the Panthers and Buccaneers than it does to the teams on the field.
Carolina’s side holds a slim lead after 30 minutes of play. The Falcons got a touchdown catch by Drake London to open the scoring and built a 10-0 lead before Saints quarterback Tyler Shough continued his strong rookie season with a touchdown run in the second quarter. That made it 10-7 and that’s the way things remain at halftime.
If the Falcons hold onto their lead, the Panthers will be the NFC South champs despite losing to the Bucs on Saturday afternoon.
Shough is 13-of-18 for 143 yards despite playing without top wideout Chris Olave. His touchdown run has been the only positive on the ground for the offense thus far and the Falcons haven’t been able to do much on that front either. Bijan Robinson has nine carries for 28 yards and hasn’t been able to recapture the magic he found against the Rams in Week 17.
The Falcons started two drives in Saints territory. The first came thanks to a Juwan Johnson fumble, but Kirk Cousins was intercepted to end that drive. London’s touchdown came after a blocked punt and the Panthers will be hoping the bounces continue to go Atlanta’s way for the rest of the afternoon.
The Panthers have reason to cheer.
A few plays after the Falcons blocked a Saints punt, Kirk Cousins hit wide receiver Drake London for a 15-yard touchdown to give Atlanta a 7-0 lead with 3:02 to play in the first quarter. The Panthers win the NFC South if the Falcons beat the Saints on Sunday.
Safety Jammie Robinson blocked Kai Kroger’s punt and the Falcons recovered at the 5-yard line. Running back Bijan Robinson ran the ball in for a score on the next snap, but a holding penalty forced the Falcons to get the ball into the end zone twice.
The two teams traded punts and turnovers before London’s score. Saints tight end Juwan Johnson lost a fumble on the first New Orleans possession and the Falcons were able to drive into scoring position, but Saints defensive end Carl Granderson made an athletic play to pick off a Cousins pass.
Kirk Cousins woke up on Sunday morning with an illness. At some point before too long, he’ll wake up on another cash-stuffed mattress.
After Atlanta’s Thursday night upset of the Bucs, featuring 373 passing yards and three touchdowns, we flagged the possibility of Cousins making another sizable payday on the open market. Whatever he makes will add to career earnings of $321 million.
Cousins, who engineered an upset of the Rams on Monday night for a third straight win, may be playing well enough to get the Falcons to keep him. Of course, they’d have to be willing to pay him $45 million for 2026. It’s unlikely that Cousins would take a penny less than he’s owed, since he’s still likely feeling justifiably salty from the Falcons drafting his replacement 43 days after he signed a deal with $100 million guaranteed.
There’s also a chance that the Falcons may be able to engineer a trade market for Cousins, possibly without having to pay much of the money he’s owed.
Either way, Cousins has played his way into having real options for 2026, with potential destinations including the Jets, the Browns, the Raiders, the Vikings, and the Cardinals.
How he plays against the Saints in the most meaningful meaningless game of Week 18, which will determine whether the Panthers or Buccaneers win the NFC South, Cousins has one last chance to send a message that there’s still plenty more football to be played — and plenty more money to be made.
The Falcons had a handful of key players listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Saints, but the Panthers will be glad to hear that all of them are in the lineup.
Wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Darnell Mooney, and cornerback A.J. Terrell will all play in Atlanta’s final game of the season. London, Pitts, and Mooney have knee injuries while Terrell was added to the report on Saturday with an illness.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins, defensive lineman David Onyemata, and linebacker Ronnie Harrison were also added to the report due to illness on Sunday. Harrison is the only one who will miss the game.
The result of the Falcons-Saints game will determine the NFC South champion. A Falcons win gives the Panthers the title while a Saints road victory will give the Bucs their fourth straight division crown.
Saints at Falcons
Saints: S Ugo Amadi, QB Spencer Rattler, WR Chris Olave, RB Alvin Kamara, OT Xavier Truss, DT Bryan Bresee, DT Nathan Shepherd
Falcons: P Trenton Gill, LB Ronnie Harrison, DL Brandon Dorlus, OL Michael Jerrell, WR Casey Washington, WR Malik Heath
Colts at Texans
Colts: CB Sauce Gardner, DT Eric Johnson, S Reuben Lowery, TE Will Mallory, S George Odum, QB Philip Rivers
Texans: WR Nico Collins, OT Trent Brown, RB Nick Chubb, WR Braxton Berrios, QB Graham Mertz, LB Jamal Hill, CB Kamari Lassiter
Cowboys at Giants
Cowboys: LB DeMarvion Overshown, CB Shavon Revel, S Alijah Clark, DT Jay Toia, DT Perrion Winfrey
Giants: S Jevon Holland, WR Ryan Miller, WR Jalin Hyatt, RB Dante Miller, LB Caleb Murphy, TE Theo Johnson, QB Russell Wilson
Browns at Bengals
Browns: TE Harold Fannin Jr., OT Jeremiah Byers, C Kingsley Eguakun, WR Jamari Thrash, TE David Njoku, DT Sam Kamara
Bengals: QB Jake Browning, WR Charlie Jones, CB Josh Newton, S Daijahn Anthony, DE Joseph Ossai, TE Cam Grandy, DT Jordan Jefferson
Packers at Vikings
Packers: QB Malik Willis, LB Quay Walker, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Dontayvion Wicks, S Xavier McKinney, OT Zach Tom, LB Edgerrin Cooper
Vikings: WR Myles Price, QB John Wolford, CB Dwight McGlothern, QB Brett Rypien, RB Aaron Jones, OL Walter Rouse, TE T.J. Hockenson
Titans at Jaguars
Titans: S Amani Hooker, EDGE Arden Key, OL Drew Moss, OL Garrett Dellinger, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Gunnar Helm
Jaguars: CB Keith Taylor, OL Patrick Mekari, TE Hunter Long, TE Patrick Herbert, DL Emmanuel Ogbah, DT Maason Smith
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has never been shy about sharing negative feelings about the Saints in the past, which will make Sunday a strange day for him and his entire team.
Mayfield and the Bucs beat the Panthers 16-14 on Saturday to give themselves a chance to be the NFC South champs and they now need the Saints to beat the Falcons in order to make it happen. Mayfield said last summer that he hates the Saints and called them a dirty team while reiterating his overall distaste for them ahead of an October game between the teams.
After Saturday’s win, though, Mayfield made it clear that won’t stop him from waving the flag for New Orleans on Sunday.
“That part’s disappointing, but we’re here,” Mayfield said, via the team’s website. “You can’t go back and change anything. That was the focus this week: Control today and see where the chips fall. So we did that – team win, and we’ll all be pulling for New Orleans tomorrow.”
The Buccaneers made their own bed by losing seven of eight games before Saturday’s win. If the Saints can pull off a win in Atlanta, they’ll have a blank slate to work with in the first round of the playoffs.
