The Giants have suffered two weeks of embarrassing performances and have found themselves on the wrong end of a streak. At 1-2 in a competitive division, they need to start winning if they want any part of competing in the NFC East. Week 4, the Giants faced off against the New Orleans Saints in a game they needed the win.
The Saints came into this game just like the Giants. Both teams are on losing streaks and both teams know all it takes is one game in order to get on a winning streak. The Giants came into this game knowing that they had to have more of a balanced gameplan, otherwise the Saints defense would have their way with them all game. Coach Burn came out with both the pass and the run in his arsenal which led to a close game that came down to the finish.
The Giants and Saints traded scores all game long. The Giants had success passing the ball while the Saints had success running the ball. Both teams have superstar running backs, however it was the Saints who relied heavily on their running back. Kamara ran all over the Giants ,however, this game plan and Kamara himself was the reason the Saints lost the game. In the final moments of the fourth quarter, Kamara ran the ball straight, however, was stripped easily by the Giants rookie linebacker Ojulari. This was the game defining play for both teams that led to the 35-31 Giant victory. The player of the game, Ojulari, could be heard after the game saying, “ I knew that Kamara would get tired out and I would have my opportunity to strip him.” Who knows if this is actually what he was thinking during the game, but this is exactly what happened and what the Giants needed.
Daniel Jones took better care of the ball in this game, however, he did end the game with two interceptions to go along with 258 passing yards and four touchdown passes. After three games, Barkley was given his chance to shine and ran moderately. He rushed for 85 yards on 19 attempts, with his longest run going for 17 yards. This isn’t the production that the Giants are looking for out of him so he will need to knock off the rust going forward. Four different receivers caught touchdown passes from Jones. Golladay, Engram, Toney, and Slayton are proving that the Giants can score in different ways with different players. Whenever an offense has the options that the Giants have, it makes it very difficult for the defense to cover.
The defense was straight up gashed for most of this game, giving up 173 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns to Kamara. Things ended well for the Giants, however, this is a very concerning statistic going forward. If they aren’t able to stop the run, teams are going to exploit it in the future. Interceptions by Peppers and Crossen, along with the strip fumble by Ojulari were the Giants turnovers for this game. These three plays were just enough to get the win, however, going forward the defense will need to work on finding a way to get more turnovers if they want to win.
The Giants, at 2-2 are third in the NFC East. The Giants feel that they are better than their record and are eagerly looking to prove this going forward. Jones’s turnovers, as well as, the run defense will need to be worked on this week in practice. Up next the Giants face off against
their divisional rival the Dallas Cowboys. At 0-1 in the division, this is a must win game.
