Jason Leach
It was good while it lasted, but the (5-9) New York Giants three-game winning streak came to a crashing end on Sunday as they were defeated by the (7-7) New Orleans Saints 24-6. The loss puts an end to any slim playoff hopes New York had.
New York had been riding off the wave of Tommy DeVito, who is becoming a local Cinderella story. But the clock struck midnight on the Giants on Sunday as they had just 193 yards of total offense and converted just two out of 16 3rd down conversions.
The loss to the Saints illustrated that the Giants need to make some massive upgrades throughout the entire roster. Here are the biggest takeaways from the Giants’ ninth loss of the season.
Related: Ultimate QB depth charts for all 32 NFL teams
The Saints dominated the 3rd quarter
New Orleans took a 7-6 halftime lead, but there was optimism on the Giants sideline as Tommy DeVito was cleared to re-enter the game after a vicious hit from Isaac Yiadom after a six-yard run in the final minute of the first half.
But the optimism quickly ended as the Saints received the second-half kickoff and proceeded to take control of the game. They drove 68 yards on 10 plays that culminated in a Derek Carr 23-yard touchdown to Juwan Johnson to extend their lead to 14-6.
New York’s offense was unable to respond as they went three and out to start the second half and gave the Saints a short field. New Orleans’ second possession of the half also resulted in points as Blake Grupe connected on a 50-yard field goal. The Giants would once again go three and out on their next possession which essentially ended the competitive phase of the game as Carr would throw a one-yard touchdown to Jimmy Graham on their next possession.
The Saints’ offense gained 130 yards on 19 plays in the third quarter, compared to New York, which had minus eight net yards on six plays.
Related: See where Tommy DeVito and Derek Carr land in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB Rankings
The offensive line was overwhelmed by the Saints defensive line
After not allowing a sack last week in their win over the Packers, most expected New York’s offensive line to hold their own against a New Orleans defense that registered just 23 sacks on the season. But they were unexpectedly overwhelmed by the Saints front seven.
New Orleans sacked DeVito seven times on Sunday and several of those came from stunts by the defensive line that New York had no answer for. Even when he wasn’t being sacked, DeVito was pressured often and was seen grimacing several times throughout the game.
The offensive line was also unable to open holes for Saquon Barkley to run through, as he was held to 14 yards on nine carries. For the game, New York had just 60 yards on the ground, and DeVito was the team’s leading rusher as he gained 36 yards on four carries.
To say it was an embarrassing performance by the line would be a huge understatement.
The pass rush was non-existent
Derek Carr had his best game of the season as he completed 23 out of 28 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 134.8 was his highest of the season.
The biggest reason for his success is that he had all day to find open receivers. During their three-game winning streak, the Giants defense registered eight sacks. But on Sunday, they had just one sack on a Jason Pinnock blitz in the second quarter. Outside of Pinnock’s sack on Carr, New York hardly touched the 32-year-old quarterback.
Nothing defensive coordinator Wink Martindale drew up caused any disruption for Carr and the Saints offense. What makes the Giants’ lack of a pass rush even more discouraging, is that the Saints were playing without All-Pro tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
The Giants will now look to rebound on Christmas Day as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles, a place they have won in since 2013.
