LOS ANGELES -- New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough didn't get much time to showcase himself in his first NFL start Sunday.
Shough played 36 of 40 offensive snaps in the team's 34-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, who controlled the clock for almost 44 minutes. The Saints' 16 minutes and 7 seconds of possession were a franchise low.
"We've got to play better and give ourselves more opportunities," Saints coach Kellen Moore said. "We have 40 snaps on offense, probably an all-time low, and they had 77, so they obviously controlled the ball for much of this game."
Shough, the 40th pick in the draft, took over when Spencer Rattler was benched midway through the Saints' loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. On Tuesday, Moore named him the starter for the rest of the season.
Shough completed 15 of 24 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown and threw one interception in the Saints' fourth straight loss.
"Disappointing result, but just proud of the way we fought throughout the whole game," Shough said. "We didn't get a lot of opportunities, and when we had them, we didn't take advantage to the best of our ability. I think starting fast was something we tried to emphasize, and we just didn't get it done there. Obviously, you start behind the eight ball, it's tough to come back against that team."
Shough's only touchdown came in the final minute of the first half. The Saints got the ball with 54 seconds remaining after the Rams missed a field goal. Shough ran an up-tempo offense, finding Chris Olave for a 27-yard gain and spiking the ball to stop the clock.
Shough took a hard hit and drew a roughing the passer penalty on the next play, then completed a pass to tight end Juwan Johnson, who made one defender miss and leaped over two others for an 11-yard score with 13 seconds left. Shough said Johnson was the third read on the play but made a good move after the catch to score.
"I think he was a bit more successful when they had some tempo, and he was able to move forward a little bit more," Saints safety Justin Reid said. "That's a talented Rams defense. They did a really good job with the coverages that they played, but just across the board, there's just too many things that didn't go our way that we need to continue to improve on and get better at. It's a tough situation to walk into for him. I think he handled it well mentally."
Shough had only three snaps in the third quarter after the Rams went on a scoring drive that lasted almost 10 minutes, and the Saints turned the ball over after Alvin Kamara fumbled at midfield. Of the Saints' two fourth-quarter possessions, one ended with Taysom Hill taking a direct snap and getting stuffed on fourth-and-2 at the Rams' 7-yard line, and the other ended with a Shough interception at the Rams' 24 on fourth-and-4.
"Operationally, I felt like he was very, very calm. He executed a pretty high level," Moore said. "I thought he handled some adverse situations really well, which is obviously a positive going into these situations. He didn't let those other factors impact his play. I thought even his turnover, at least it was a fourth down. He was trying to give us a shot outside."
The Saints, who could be in contention for the top pick in next year's NFL draft, will have an opportunity to evaluate Shough over the next eight games. They play at Carolina on Sunday.