Giants Can't Overcome Mistakes in Loss to Saints

SAINTS 33 - GIANTS 18

It was too much Drew Brees, way too much Alvin Kamara, and even way too much Saints D for the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium as Big Blue dropped to 1-3 on the season after a disheartening 33-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints grinded out the Giants over the course of 60 minutes, and New York had no answer for every punch the Saints threw at them. Even when New Orleans kept inviting the G-Men into the ball game with four consecutive field goals to take a 12-7 lead at the half, the Giants couldn't get over the hump.

Big Blue beat themselves Sunday, it is as simple as that.

When the Giants had the Saints down and out, New Orleans faked a punt as Taysom Hill hit Justin Hardee for a 10-yard gain to keep the drive alive. New Orleans would get a field goal to cut the Giants lead down to 7-3.

When the Giants were moving the ball toward midfield with 4:45 to play before the half, still leading 7-6, Wayne Gallman fumbled the ball back into the hands of the Saints. New Orleans converted another field goal to make it 9-7, Saints.

It was just that kind of day for the Giants. After New York scored a touchdown on its opening drive, they amassed only 42 net yards over their next five possessions.  That's not going to get it done.

Once the Giants thought they had the Saints right where they wanted them, trailing by a score of 19-10 with a whole quarter to play, they quickly realized, rather, the Saints had them instead.

A 14-play, 74-yard drive engineered by Brees, culminated in a 4-yard plunge by Alvin Kamara that broke the game open at 26-10.

Still the Giants fought back. In what turned out to be the Giants best drive of the day, Eli Manning completed seven of nine passes to move the Giants to the New Orleans goalline with roughly four minutes to play. Wasting no time, Saquon Barkley dove into the end zone for the score, and Manning hit Sterling Shepherd for the two point conversion to give Big Blue life down 26-18.

But as was the case all day, the Giants couldn't hold down New Orleans. On first and ten from the Giants 49, Kamara shook a couple of defenders and sprinted down the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown to blow the game totally out of reach with less than two minutes to go.

At 1-3, the Giants have nobody to blame but themselves.