The New Orleans Saints left MetLife Stadium with a 34-27 win over the New York Giants on Sunday, ending a three-game losing streak and moving to 2-4. It was the kind of game that showed both sides of this team: the fight they had been missing, and the chaos that nearly swallowed them anyway.
For a team that had entered Sunday in a rough spot, this was as close to a relief valve as it gets. The Saints had dropped three straight home games.
Owner Gayle Benson had already voiced her disappointment in the 1-4 start at a luncheon Tuesday. There was real uncertainty about whether Kellen Moore and Mickey Loomis would make it through if things didn’t turn around.
Morale was low, execution was worse, and there were fair questions about whether Moore could get this thing moving in the right direction. Then the Saints fell behind 10-0 in the first half and answered with the kind of grit they had been lacking for three weeks.
They also got a version of Alvin Kamara that had been in hiding for much of the season. Coming in, Kamara had only 86 rushing yards and 41 receiving yards in what was shaping up as a rocky 10th season.
He has also been dealing with a back injury that kept him out of some recent practices, and he briefly went to the injury tent in the first half Sunday. But he came back and flashed the old burst and balance on a brilliant 31-yard catch, slipping through tacklers the way he’s done so many times before.
That play also put him in rare company: he became the sixth player in NFL history to reach 5,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards.
The Saints also found a few things that had been missing from their game. A defense that hadn’t been forcing many turnovers suddenly came up with three interceptions and a fumble.
An offense that had been ranked 29th in rushing got going to the tune of 176 rushing yards. Special teams chipped in as well, with Daniel Carlson drilling a 58-yard field goal before the Saints forced a fumble on the kickoff that followed.
There’s still plenty to clean up. A game that ended on the final play after the Saints once led by 24 is not exactly a clean finish. But after what they had been through, the Saints took the win and got on the plane to Paris with something they badly needed.
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Saints Win Came With A Kool-Aid McKinstry Concern
The Saints got what they needed Sunday in a 34-27 win over the Giants, with Tyler Shough throwing three touchdown passes and Alvin Kamara helping keep the offense moving with a key 15-yard run. It was the kind of victory that can steady a season, but it also came with a side note on the defensive back end, where Kool-Aid McKinstry has been working through a stretch that has not looked like the player New Orleans expected.
Kellen Moore said McKinstrys recent issues have been tied to a collection of migraine symptoms and on-field trouble, offering some context for a performance dip that has been hard to miss. The Saints still walked away with the win, but McKinstrys status remains something worth watching closely as they sort out how much of this is health-related and how much is tied to what has been happening on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Defense Finally Showed The Identity Fans Have Been Waiting For
The Saints have spent much of the season searching for the kind of defensive edge that used to define them, and Sunday brought a version of it back at just the right time. Against former quarterback Jameis Winston, New Orleans came up with two interceptions, a haul that matched the teams total from the previous five games and helped tilt the game firmly in its favor.
Jameis Winstons rough afternoon also fit into a broader effort from a defense that got after the passer and made him uncomfortable throughout the day. One takeaway helped fuel a scoring drive that stretched the lead, and the overall performance gave New Orleans a much-needed lift as it notched its second win of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Stopped The Skid But One Lingering Problem Remains
The Saints finally got a win back in the column Sunday, outlasting the Giants 34-27 to snap a three-game losing streak and steady things for a team that badly needed a reset. New Orleans leaned on a productive ground game, piled up 176 rushing yards and came away with four turnovers, with Tyler Shough, Alvin Kamara and a pair of special teams contributors helping set the tone in a game that had plenty of momentum swings.
Even so, the final score still hinted at the same issue that has followed this group for much of the season: the Saints could not put it away cleanly. They survived a late Giants rally after looking in control for much of the afternoon, and the closing stretch served as a reminder that one solid win does not erase the work still ahead, especially if New Orleans wants to turn a relief result into something more stable. [Read more 🡒]