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Giants-Saints final score: New York defeats New Orleans, 27-21 in OT

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By: Emily Iannaconi

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

The Giants earn their first win of the season in New Orleans to improve to 1-3

The New York Giants defeated the New Orleans Saints, 21-21, in overtime on Sunday to win their first game of the season and improve to 1-3 on the season. The Saints dropped to 2-2 on the season.

The Giants trailed by 11 early in the fourth quarter and came all the way back to tie the score at 21 and force overtime. Jones led the Giants down the field to set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley in overtime that gave the Giants the victory.

How big was this victory for the Giants?

“We’re just sticking to the process,” said head coach Joe Judge. “we can’t ride this rollercoaster every week.”

How it happened

On fourth-and-3 at 3:51 in the first quarter, Leonard Williams and Lorenzo Carter stopped Alvin Kamara just short of the first down to force a turnover on downs and give the Giants back the ball.

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has faced criticism for not giving Kadarius Toney and free agent acquisition Kenny Golladay more snaps. With the injuries to Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, Toney and Golladay saw more playing time from the beginning and they quickly took advantage.

On the Giants’ following drive, New York drove down the field to the Saints’ 16-yard line. Instead of going for it on fourth-and-one, Judge elected to be conservative and kick the 35-yard field goal. Graham Gano’s kick veered left though, snapping the kicker’s streak of 37 consecutive field goals.

On the Saints’ next possession at 9:05 in the second quarter, former Giant Aldrick Rosas missed a 58-yard wide right to keep the game scoreless.

Then at 8:59, Jones connected on a deep pass over the middle to John Ross III for a 52-yard touchdown score to give the Giants a 7-0 lead. For a Giants offense that has been lacking explosive plays (having only one passing play over 40 yards entering today’s game), it was a step in the right direction.

After three trips into Giants territory without a score, the Saints managed to get on the scoreboard with 29 seconds left in the first half. Jameis Winston completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson to complete a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive to tie the score at seven heading into the locker room.

The Saints opened the scoring on the first drive of the second half when Taysom Hill rushed for an eight-yard touchdown at 13:34 to complete a three-play, 75-yard scoring drive and give the Saints a 14-7 advantage.

Toney and Golladay continued to stay involved on the Giants’ following drive as Jones led the team all the way down to the field to the Saints’ three-yard line. But red-zone troubles continued as New York was unable to score and had to settle for a field goal, making it 14-10 at 8:40 in the third quarter.

The Saints added to their lead when Hill rushed for another eight-yard score at 12:14 in the fourth quarter to make it 21-10.

Following a 26-yard punt return by C.J. Board, New York found the end zone for the first time since the first quarter when Jones connected with Saquon Barkley for a 54-yard touchdown down the sideline. Jones rushed into the end zone to convert the two-point conversion and pull the Giants within three at 7:01 in the fourth quarter.

The Giants got the ball back with 3:01 remaining in the game and drove down the field to set up a 48-yard field goal by Gano. Gano converted the kick to send the Giants to overtime.

Barkley rushed for a 6-yard score in overtime to seal a 27-21 Giants win. This is what happened before overtime started:

Rotating offensive line

The Giants’ offensive line has suffered more than its fair share of injuries in the first four weeks of the season. Today, the starting offensive line was Andrew Thomas, Matt Skura, Billy Price, Will Hernandez and Nate Solder. Skura is the fourth left guard to start for New York in as many games.

  • Week 1: Shane Lemieux (knee)
  • Week 2: Nick Gates (leg)
  • Week 3: Ben Bredeson (hand)
  • Week 4: Matt Skura

First-half stats

The Giants and Saints were tied, 7-7, at the half. Jones was seven of 12 for 116 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It was Jones’ first interception of the season but it was on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. Jones also rushed for 24 yards.

The Giants had six first downs while the Saints had 11. New York had 174 offensive yards while New Orleans recorded 182.

The Saints dominated the time of possession battle in the first half, holding the ball for 20:28 compared to 9:32 for the Giants.

Stats

  • Giants quarterback Daniel Jones completed 28 of 40 passes for 402 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
  • Saquon Barkley had 12 rushing attempts for 46 yards and one touchdown.
  • Kenny Golladay led the team with six receptions for 116 yards.
  • Kadarius Toney had a season-high six receptions for 78 yards on the day.
  • Cornerback James Bradberry recorded one interception.
  • Rookie linebacker Azeez Ojulari continued his streak of recording a sack in each of his first four games as a Giant.

Injury News

Safety Jabrill Peppers suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter and missed the remainder of the game.

Giants inactives

  • OL Ben Bredeson (hand)
  • WR Sterling Shepard (hamstring)
  • WR Darius Slayton (hamstring)
  • CB Josh Jackson
  • CB Sam Beal
  • DE Raymond Johnson

What’s next?

The Giants will travel to AT&T Stadium to play the division-rival Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 10 at 4:25 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FOX.

Originally posted on Big Blue View