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Giants (3-1-1) Saints (1-4)
Last
week the New Orleans Saints were trying to avoid their third loss in a row in
a tough matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. The Saints had a 7-6 halftime lead,
but the Vikings went ahead, and got their fifth win with a 23-13 score to continue
their unbeaten season.
The Giants came close
to winning and losing their game with the Washington Commanders last week. The
Commanders had the lead the entire game until the Giants came up with a touchdown,
with less than two minutes left. The game went into overtime and ended in a 27-27
tie. New Orleans Saints
In
2024 the Saints finished last in the NFC South
with a 5-12 record, and they brought in a new head coach. Kellen Moore got the
job after working as the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl winning Philadelphia
Eagles. Giants fans will remember him most for being the offensive coordinator
of the Dallas Cowboys for a number of years before doing that for the Los Angeles
Chargers in 2023.
The first thing Moore had to do was find a quarterback.
Derek Carr decided to retire after 11 seasons in the league. Spencer Rattler was
a 2024 fifth-round pick for the Saints, and played in some games during his rookie
year. The Saints selected Tyler Shough in the second round last year. They went
with Rattler to start off the season and had four straight defeats, until they
played against the Giants in game 5 and came up with a win. New
Orleans Saints Offense
Spencer Rattler's one game winning streak didn't last very long, and three losses
later, he was replaced by rookie Tyler Shough. He got them their second win of
the season and three more, and the Saints finished the division in last place
with a 6-11 record. Shough has started all the games this year, and has completed
66.8 percent of his passes. He has thrown 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and
run for one touchdown. The Saints passed on Jaxson Dart last year, and selected
left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. ninth overall, picking up Shough later on. Banks
made a difference right away for the offensive line, and continues to do so.
The
rushing offense was ranked 28th in the league, averaging just less than 95 yards
a game. Alvin Kamara was the lead running back then and the Saints brought in
veteran Travis Etienne Jr. to take over that spot. He played in the first three
games, leads in carries and yards, but is currently on injured reserve, and Kamara
is listed as questionable. Kendre Miller would take over that lead role if he's
not available.
Wide receiver Chris Olave led the team last year in receptions
and yards,and had 9 touchdowns. Olave leads the team again this year, and Devaughn
Vele is next, followed by tight end Juwan Johnson. Those three receivers have
been targeted 123 times by Shough, and they've caught two thirds of his total
passes. Running backs Etienne and Kamara are next in line in targets, combining
for 24 catches on the 29 passes that came their way. Olave is listed as questionable,
but is expected to play. New
Orleans Saints Defense
Last year this defense gave up 120.6 rushing yards a game, and ranked 19th overall
in the league. They are giving up over 25 more this year, and that should be something
the Giants can take advantage of. It doesn't help the Saints that linebacker Kaden
Elliss will miss his third game. In the last two without him, teams put up some
big rushing numbers. The passing defense was ranked 4th last year, giving up 179.2
yards a game. That's slipped to 12th, and 212.2 yards. They are averaging lower
with their sack and interception numbers. Currently this defense has 10 sacks,
and just 1 interception.
Overall the Saints have given up over seven and a
half more points per game this year, and sit in next to last place, giving up
an average 30.2 points a game. More than half the sacks have come from linebackers
Chase Young and Carl Granderson. Young has 4 sacks, and Granderson has 2.5. Cameron
Jordan was the sack leader last season over those two with 15. Jordan re-signed
with the Saints with a one year deal that includes sack incentives, but he has
none so far this year. Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry does a nice job in the secondary,
and led the team last year with 3 interceptions. McKinstry will probably see a
lot of Malik Nabers coming his way, as Jameis Winston has made good use of the
talented receiver. Giants
Offense
This will be Jameis Winston's fourth
game as the starting quarterback for the Giants. Winston's completed 51 of his
73 passes for 576 yards, with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions as the starter,
and his record is 2-0-1. He could have been 3-0, except for an unfortunate fumble
by running back Cam Skattebo in the late stages of the Giants overtime period
last week with the Washington Commanders. With Dart out, the Giants have had to
tailor the offense to suit Winston's skills, and he's thrown more passes. Last
week he threw 3 touchdowns with no interceptions.
They had a lot planned for
Dart that had to be shelved, but now that they have J.J. McCarthy as a backup,
they are anxious to get some into the games. They may be a little too anxious,
by throwing him in for one play here and there. McCarthy was in and out five times
last week, and the offense looked off track. He ran on one play for no gain, and
on another for two yards and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor was injured on the
play. One pass to receiver Darnell Mooney, tackled 5 yards behind the line of
scrimmage, drew a 15-yard facemask penalty. One completed pass was called back
due to an illegal shift penalty.
A better plan for McCarthy might be having
him in for a full series to have the offense better execute whatever plays they
have cooked up for him. It doesn't matter what quarterback is taking the snaps
as long as they're throwing to Malik Nabers. Aside from catching that 14-yard
pass that was called back, Nabers pulled in 11 catches for 121 yards and 1 touchdown.
Tight end Isaiah Likely also had 11 catches and 2 touchdowns. The two have accounted
for 35 of the 56 receiving first downs on the season. The Giants still have work
to do with their rushing attack. The running backs, Cam Skattebo, Najee Harris,
and Tyrone Tracy came up with just 74 total yards, that number enhanced by having
an extra overtime period. It goes without saying that Skattebo's fumble in overtime,
when the Giants were driving the ball close to the red zone, likely ruined their
opportunity for a win. Giants
Defense
The defense has to take note of
how well the Vikings handled what the Saints have to offer up with their offense.
Quarterback Tyler Shough.has handled himself well, but when the pressure comes,
he's quick to get rid of the ball. Last game on 25 passes, Shough's 16 completions
netted 96 yards and 2 interceptions, and there were no touchdowns. The Giants
haven't been delivering sacks, but they can get after the quarterback.
Kendre
Miller was the Saints lead rusher in that game, and his 19 carries were for 30
yards and the teams one touchdown. The Saints totaled just 55 rushing yards. If
the Giants can give up their habit of letting runners escape, they should be able
to get the Saints off the field fast, and provide Winston and his crew more time
to put up points. Last week they let Washington score a touchdown on just four
plays on their opening drive. That's not how they should go about getting the
Saints off the field fast this week.
Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson leaned
heavily on the blitz in the late part of the game last week, and has been mixing
things up. Linebacker Arvell Reese, the Giants first round pick in the draft,
was in the mix more, and it's paid off. The rookie leads the team in total tackles
with 43, and came up with his first sack last week. Tremaine Edmunds is next with
41 total tackles, and he has 2 sacks, as well as fellow linebacker Abdul Carter,
and cornerback Dru Phillips. Overall
The New Orleans Saints look to have the right ingredients to get some wins, but
it hasn't been happening. It has been happening for the Giants sort of, as they
were lucky enough to escape without a loss, and instead their game ended in a
tie last week. The Saints have given up 33 more points than they have scored,
and are last in their division. The Giants have a meager 3 more points than what
they've given up, and they are first in the NFC East.
It's the actual winning
and losing numbers that count, and the Giants will have a tough time with those
if they continue playing the way they do. Billed as the underdogs once again,
the Giants can set things right if they play up to what they can do in this next
game with the struggling Saints. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Saints (1-3)
at Giants (3-1-1)
Sunday at 1:00pm Panthers (2-2) at Eagles (2-3)
Sunday
at 8:20pm Cowboys (2-3) at Packers (3-2)
Monday at 8:15pm Commanders (1-3-1)
at 49ers (5-0)
No NFC East teams are favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
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Next Games
Oct
25 Giants at Texans
Nov 8 Giants at Philadelphia
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