THE NEED FOR SHAHEED! 🔥
68-yd TD pass from Taysom Hill #ATLvsNO | 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/snhaoiFxmb
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 18, 2022
There are 68 days left until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 season, which means it’s time for the Saints Play of the Day. Today we’re highlighting Taysom Hill’s 68-yard touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed against the Atlanta Falcons in 2022 — a huge moment that gave the Saints a commanding 14-0 lead over their oldest rivals.
Both teams took the field with similar footing in mid-December. The Saints went into this matchup with a 4-9 record after a one-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a week earlier, while the Falcons were sitting at 5-8. But Juwan Johnson scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton early in the first quarter before (the first of two scores for Johnson on the afternoon), and then Hill and Shaheed went to work.
Hill dropped a 33-yard pass to Shaheed just over the outstretched arms of Falcons defensive back Richie Grant. The rookie wideout caught the ball at the top of his route and cut upfield to run 35 yards into the end zone. The Saints led the scoreboard for the rest of the game and won their grudge match 21-18. This was the longest catch of Shaheed’s career, and the second-longest pass completion Hill had thrown in the NFL (behind the 70-yard score we highlighted a few days ago). We’ll need to see more big plays like these for the Saints to end their playoff drought in 2024.
