The New Orleans Saints shut out the visiting club 24-6 at the Caesars Superdome, and the New York Giants were left with no response. The loss dropped the Giants to 5-9 and guaranteed that New York would have a losing record at the end of the season.
Despite only allowing 296 yards, New York’s defense gave up three lengthy touchdown drives and 20 first downs in that yardage. The offense finished the game with zero trips to the red zone and only two third-down conversions out of 16 attempts, managing only 193 yards, of which only sixty were gained on the ground.
The Saints scored 17 points in a row after the Giants, trailing 7–6 at the interval, allowed the game to get away from them. Tommy DeVito, the rookie quarterback, concluded with a passing rating of 72.8 and took in seven sacks while being jostled around like a pinball. Prior to this game, he had enjoyed three weeks in a row with a passer rating above 100 and had not been sacked once.
Despite finishing with 177 passing yards and no touchdowns, DeVito—who was once checked for a brain injury—also seemed to damage his ankle when teammate Ben Bredeson trod on his foot in the fourth quarter. He completed 20 of 34 throws. Having gained 36 yards on four carries, DeVito emerged as the Giants’ top rusher as well.
In contrast, Saquon Barkley managed just 14 yards on nine carries and two 23-yard receptions. Leading the Giants in receiving yards with four catches for sixty-three was Darius Slayton. Following a five-game layoff, tight end Darren Waller made his injury comeback with four receptions for 40 yards.
Derek Carr, the quarterback for the Saints, completed 23 of 28 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns, good for a 134.8 passer rating overall. Alvin Kamara, a running back, had 110 yards from scrimmage by receiving five receptions for 44 yards and rushing for 66 yards on 16 carries. Juwan Johnson, a wide receiver, caught just two passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Both teams’ defenses dominated the first half, resulting in punts on all but three of the possessions. Nevertheless, after traveling 37 yards in nine plays on their opening drive of the game, the Giants would score.
Running into the kicker penalty on New Orleans extended New York’s first drive, and Barkley made a spectacular 17-yard, one-armed catch to get the ball into Saints territory. After completing the drive with a 56-yard field goal, Randy Bullock hurt his right hamstring on the next kickoff, forcing punter Jamie Gillan to take over kicking responsibilities and giving the Giants an early 3-0 lead.
The Saints took the lead with an 11-play, 68-yard drive that spanned little over six and a half minutes after both teams punted. With just two third downs in their hands, New Orleans was strengthened by receptions of 15 and 17 yards from Lynn Bowden Jr. and Johnson, respectively. Carr gave the Saints the lead at the end of the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Keith Kirkwood, who pulled in his fourth reception of the year.
Darren Waller’s 29-yard reception and DeVito’s 14-yard run helped the Giants mount a drive to the Saints’ 35-yard line, but the following four drives resulted in punts. Sadly, on third and eleven, Bryan Bresee, the defensive tackle, sacked DeVito, taking them out of Gillan’s gamefield goal range.
On New York’s next possession, they would advance to the New Orleans 21-yard line, primarily assisted by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on the Saints defense that gave the Giants an automatic first down on a 3rd and 22.
DeVito was sidelined for a while due to an injury, but backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor continued the drive with passes of five and eight yards to Wan’Dale Robinson and Matt Breida, respectively. After that, Gillan was called out to try a 40-yard field goal, which he made through the uprights to cut the Giants’ halftime lead to 7-6.
The Giants were only able to execute six offensive plays and handed up 10 points in the third quarter, when the Saints seized over the game.
After six minutes and twenty-one seconds, New Orleans opened the second half with a 10-play, 68-yard touchdown drive. The lead was increased to 14-6 when Carr found Johnson for a 23-yard touchdown pass after previously completing touchdowns to Rashid Shaheed for 19 and 11 yards.
With DeVito back behind center, the Giants would only go three and out, and the Saints would be in good field position at their 43-yard line. The ball was quickly moved into Giants territory when Carr completed an 18-yard pass to A.T. Perry. This was sufficient for kicker Brandon Grupe to make a 50-yard field goal and increase the lead to 11.
New Orleans took seven minutes and two seconds to go 65 yards in 11 plays, forcing another three-and-out and putting the Giants well out of reach. With a 15-yard dash and a 17-yard reception, Kamara set the tone. Carr then moved the ball just outside the red zone by converting a third and 16 with a 16-yard pass to Perry.
The ball was moved inside the 10 after three straight runs by Kamara. Carr then connected with Jimmy Graham for a 1-yard touchdown throw in the end zone after the Giants’ Jason Pinnock was called for pass interference. This increased the Saints’ advantage to 24-6.
Robinson had a 13-yard reception to start the Giants’ next possession, but they were behind by three scores. DeVito then found Robinson again for eight yards to convert a fourth and 2. Just four plays later, though, New York found itself in a 4th-and-8 situation. This time, DeVito’s pass to Jalin Hyatt was incomplete, turning the ball over on downs and putting an end to any dreams of a comeback.
The Giants got as far as the New Orleans 28 after forcing the Saints to punt, courtesy of a 33-yard pass from DeVito to Slayton. Sadly, two plays later, DeVito was sacked for a 12-yard loss, and the Giants would finally give up the ball on downs, allowing the Saints to keep possession of the ball for the remainder of the game.
Leave a Reply