EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ Shutting down the Saints' high-powered offense was a big part of the game plan for the Giants. But it wasn't the only part. Which is why, despite clamping down on the Saints for most of the afternoon on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Giants lost, 33-18. Their offense sputtered throughout the afternoon and never clicked long enough or well enough for them to stay in the game, wasting a deceptively admirable performance by the defense _ 33 points allowed was good? _ and sinking the team to 1-3 on the season.
The Giants' big offensive stars were virtual non-factors. Odell Beckham Jr. caught 7 passes for 70 yards. Saquon Barley had 10 carries for 44 yards and six catches for 56. And Eli Manning completed 31 of 41 passes for 255 yards.
Trailing 26-10 late in the fourth, the Giants managed a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Barkley and a two-point conversion pass to Sterling Shepard with 3:44 left to make it a one-possession game. Ted Ginn Jr. muffed the kickoff and the Saints were pinned at their own 3, giving the Giants a glimmer of hope. But the Saints gained 21 yards on their next snap and then converted a third-and-8 on a pass interference penalty against Donte Deayon. Alvin Kamara then ran for a 49-yard touchdown against a gassed defense that sealed the win to cap a six-play, 97-yard drive that took just 1:38.
The Giants started strong, driving 75 yards on their opening possession with Manning hitting Shepard for a 3-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. After that, though, the offense went dormant for the rest of the half. Their next four possessions resulted in 22 net yards and zero points. Worse even was that one ended in a fumble by Wayne Gallman that led to the field goal that gave the Saints their first lead, 9-7. The Giants' defense played well enough to keep the Saints out of the end zone, but they still hit halftime trailing 12-7.
That offensive ineptitude carried into the third quarter as the Giants opened with a short drive and punt. The Saints responded with an eight-play, 80-yard drive for their first touchdown of the game and a 19-7 lead. The Giants looked poised to hold the Saints out of the end zone yet again when Landon Collins broke up a third-and-6 pass to Kamara from the Giants' 18, but a facemask penalty on B.W. Webb away from the action gave the Saints first-and-goal at the 9. Kamara ran up the middle for the touchdown on the next snap.
The Giants closed to 19-10 on a field goal with 2:02 left in the third and then forced the Saints into a three-and-out. The Giants squandered the opportunity with their own three-and-out that included a 7-yard loss on a run by Barkley and an 8-yard sack of Manning. The Saints responded by driving 74 yards; a 4-yard TD run by Kamara made it 26-10 with 6:06 remaining. The Saints converted on third-and-9, third-and-7, third-and-1 and third-and-6 on the drive.
