The New York Giants entered Sunday with a chance to inch closer to a playoff spot. They left with a bitter taste and their chances evaporated. A 24-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints dropped the Giants to 5-9 on the season, and you have to think the season is over now. Though they’re not mathematically out of a playoff spot yet, a date with the Eagles on Sunday may make things official. But, let’s focus on this game for a second. This is your Giants vs. Saints review.
I’ll be joined by my co-host from the Backup to the Backup Podcast Brian Germinaro for this one (check out his articles on the site too!)
Saquon Barkley Only Ran For 14 Yards On Nine Carries. HOW?
Brian Germinaro: Give credit where credit is due. The Saints completely took Saquon out of this game. He was a non-factor and felt like he could get nothing going. which is exactly what you need to do when playing the Giants. Don’t let Saquon run all over you and the rest of the offense will crumble. The biggest reason for this non-factor was the offensive line playing atrocious, especially the interior. John Michael Schmitz had the worst game of his young career, and Justin Pugh reminded us all why he was “straight off the couch”. It seemed like every time Saquon touched the ball, there were already two or three Saints defenders waiting to meet him. It’s impossible to get any sort of running game going when that happens, no matter who the running back is.
Nathan Nguyen: Brian, I got to tell you. This game was terrible to watch. What makes it worse is that the run game was not working at all. Whether it was Pugh playing through injury or just incompetent play overall from the line, there was no hope for Barkley. All season long, he has had to deal with this terrible position group, and his numbers have suffered because of it. When was the last time he’s rushed for 100+?
Take this for data. Justin Pugh had a 29.5 PFF grade against the Saints, which was the worst on the team and by anyone who played lineman this week. Add in his 41.8 run-blocking grade, and you might as well not have even played.
Ben Bredeson wasn’t any better. He had a 47.3 run-blocking grade. John Michael Schmitz did not have a good day either (58.3 PFF grade). In all, it’s easy to see why Barkley struggled on the ground. Oh, and the Saints just focused on stopping the run and forcing Devito to beat them. Mission accomplished.
Is The Magic of Tommy Devito Officially Gone?
B: Listen, we all knew that this run was going to end at one point or another. I mean it was the football version of Linsanity. Now I don’t think any of us thought it was going to end this soon or even abruptly. But, it’s safe to say that DeVito isn’t the guy anymore. Nobody will be calling for him to be the starter next season. He’s not gonna have this Brock Purdy-type story. He’ll probably be a career backup getting spot starts for the rest of his career. However, just because it’s over doesn’t mean we still can’t love Tommy DeVito. Like Dr.Seuss once said: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”. We’ll always remember what DeVito did and the joy and hope he brought to Giants fans in what turned out to be a lost season.
N: It makes sense. New Orleans had four weeks worth of game tape on him, and their defense is way better than the ones New York faced during their win streak (Washington, New England, Green Bay). Going back to Saquon, Devito’s success relies on the success of the run game. The Saints made it clear they wanted New York to be one-dimensional and have Devito beat them with his arm. Throwing for less than 200 yards in the past two games, I don’t blame them.
Okay, Let’s Make This Simple: What Went Wrong For The Giants In This Game?
B: Pretty much everything went wrong for the Giants in New Orleans. The offense was horrific, they lost Randy Bullock early on in the game and had to rely on Jamie Gillan to be the placekicker. However, the biggest issue was the Giants’ pass coverage. It seemed like every time Carr would step back to pass, he would find an open receiver for 15 yards. They would just keep running the same dig route over and over and the Giants had no answer for it. Adoree’ Jackson looked washed in this game like he had lost a step and couldn’t keep up with the Saints receivers. Overall, the secondary struggled a lot against a Saints team that was missing their number-one target Chris Olave.
N: Everything. When your running back can’t get anything going, your defense making Derek Carr look like Tom Brady and your punter has to kick field goals because your kicker got hurt? A mess, indeed.
The fact that Derek Carr threw three touchdowns on this defense without Chris Olave just continues to show this team isn’t ready to even compete in the NFC. Even with the winning streak they had, they were against either bottom-tier teams or squeaking by one possession.
Also, there was no pass rush at all. Send the dawgs, Wink???
Offensively, there’s just not enough weapons to succeed and score points. As we mentioned on multiple occasions, the skill players outside of Barkley are a bunch of WR2/3/4 guys and a tight end who cannot stay healthy (welcome back Darren Waller). Also, fire Bobby Johnson.
Any Positives (at all) From The Game?
B: The main positive I can take away is the play of Darren Waller. In his first game since coming off the IR due to a hamstring injury, he had four receptions for 40 yards. A pretty decent game all things considered. Let’s hope Waller can build off this game and we can see him play the way he did in Vegas/Oakland. This would be a much-needed addition to this Giants’ passing game because it’s very clear they’re missing their big-time playmaker. Someone the quarterback can confidently throw the ball to and know they’re going to make the play. Now even if Waller goes off over the next few weeks, the Giants will still need to bring in a wide receiver this offseason. However, good play from Waller will turn the Giants’ passing game from one of the worst into one of the best
N: No turnovers from Devito once again. Darius Slayton had over 60 yards receiving. That’s it. Waller came back, yay.
Can The Giants Beat The Eagles And Keep Their Playoff Chances Alive?
B: I might be a little biased as a known Philly hater. However, this is not the same Eagles team from last season. Their record is a lot better than the team itself. This can be credited to them getting lucky in one-score games. This season their record in one score game is 7-2. It reminds me a lot of the Vikings from last season. However, despite this, the Giants currently constructed are not good enough to beat the Eagles. They would have to play almost perfectly to pull off the upset, and even then it still might take some luck. But hey the saying is “Any Given Sunday” for a reason, right?
N: Unless the Eagles continue to play like frauds, no chance. It’s time to move on. I hate being negative, but this loss just blew the wind out of our sails.
Thanks for reading “Giants vs. Saints: What Went Right and Wrong?”. Make sure to visit Belly Up Sports every week and follow me on Twitter/X! Also, check out my podcast “Backup to the Backup” on Spotify and YouTube for more NFL content from Brian and I!
Featured Image: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
