J.J. McCarthy gave the Giants a pulse in the fourth quarter, but the early damage was too much to fully erase in a 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants had a 10-0 lead and still managed to let it slip away with turnovers, shaky ball security and a stretch where New Orleans piled up 34 straight points. Yet McCarthy’s late surge turned what looked like a runaway into a tense finish.
After replacing Winston with 11:03 left in the fourth quarter, McCarthy went 11 of 21 for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception over the final 11 minutes. He also led the Giants with 26 rushing yards on two carries.
The comeback bid got all the way to an incompletion at the back of the end zone intended for Isaiah Likely.
By then, the Giants had already spent too much of the afternoon digging out of their own mess. They couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t stop the run and couldn’t protect the football, and that left them vulnerable against a Saints team that came in 1-4 and had been publicly challenged during the week by owner Gayle Benson.
John Harbaugh benched Cam Skattebo after a fumble, but the giveaways kept coming anyway. Charlie Jones’ late-second-quarter fumble in kickoff coverage changed everything, and the Giants never really recovered.
Before that collapse, though, the home side had built a 10-0 lead. Jameis Winston opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Tracy Jr. with 5:14 left in the first quarter. Winston later found Likely for 24 yards against a Saints zone, then climbed the pocket and took a hit while getting the ball to Tracy, who shook linebacker Pete Werner and jumped into the end zone.
The Giants extended the lead with a 34-yard field goal from Dominic Zvada after Winston hit Malik Nabers for 19 yards, helped along by a 15-yard personal foul on Saints defender Vernon Broughton for a blow to Winston’s head.
New Orleans answered in a hurry. Barion Brown returned the next kickoff 44 yards, Chris Olave caught a 12-yard pass from Tyler Shough, and Daniel Carlson drilled a 58-yard field goal with 1:18 left in the second quarter to make it 10-3.
That set up the sequence that flipped the night. Jones fumbled the kickoff, forced by Saints linebacker Isaiah Stalbird and recovered by tight end Oscar Delp, giving New Orleans the ball at the Giants’ 28. Shough immediately escaped for a 25-yard run to the 3, then hit Bryce Lance for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal to tie it 10-10 at halftime.
The Saints were getting the ball to start the third quarter, and they made good on that chance. They scored 34 unanswered points and built a 24-point cushion when Shough connected with Olave for an 18-yard touchdown with 11:31 remaining.
That was when the Giants finally started to spark. Jason Pinnock forced and recovered a fumble by C.J. Donaldson at the Saints’ 48-yard line with 9:31 left, and the defense’s effort seemed to wake up the offense.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. finished McCarthy’s first scoring drive as a Giant with a 5-yard touchdown run, then McCarthy added a two-point pass to Likely to cut the margin to 34-18.
On the next possession, McCarthy hit Jones for 49 yards to set up a 24-yard touchdown pass to Likely with 5:06 remaining. The Giants tried another two-point conversion to Malik Nabers, but that failed, leaving them down 34-24.
From there, the defense held up again, and Harbaugh made a decision that stood out. Facing third-and-6 at the Saints’ 23, he had McCarthy spike the ball so Zvada could kick a 41-yard field goal and trim the deficit to 34-27. The move preserved the two-minute warning, but it also meant the Giants were not taking a shot at the end zone and a chance to go for the win on the next series.
It looked like Harbaugh was leaning toward overtime for the second straight week after last weekend’s 27-27 tie at Washington. The Giants now head to Houston to face the Texans next Sunday before their Week 8 bye.
In Other News...
Giants Backfield Shift Puts Cam Skattebo Under Pressure In Week 6
The Giants are moving toward a reshaped backfield in Week 6 after Cam Skattebos fumbling issues forced the staff to rethink the rotation. According to ESPNs Jordan Raanan, the team plans to keep four running backs active for its upcoming game, a sign that the workload distribution is about to get a lot less settled than it has been.
Najee Harris is expected to become a bigger part of the mix, while Skattebo is still slated to remain involved despite the growing concern around ball security. The shift comes after Skattebos overtime fumble against Washington, and it sets up a test of how the Giants want to balance trust, touches and accountability in a backfield that suddenly looks more crowded. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Catch A Break With Saints QB Before Crucial Matchup
Tyler Shough has been dealing with a hand issue that could matter a lot to the Giants as they get ready for a pivotal Week 6 matchup with New Orleans. The Saints quarterback has stayed on the field despite the injury, and it clearly showed up in his recent game against the Vikings, where his effectiveness was affected.
New Orleans had kept the situation quiet until just before the Giants game, adding another layer of uncertainty to a meeting that already carried weight for both teams. For New York, the timing at least offers a better read on the challenge ahead, even if the Saints still have a quarterback willing to play through it. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Are Shuffling Two Key Spots Right Before Kickoff
Right before kickoff against the Saints, the Giants had to shuffle two spots that matter a lot in how the offense is going to function. Jermaine Eluemunor is out with a calf injury, which opens the door for Marcus Mbow to start at right tackle, while rookie J.C. Davis is active as a swing tackle in case the protection plan needs another adjustment.
The backfield is changing too, with Najee Harris set to start at running back instead of Cam Skattebo. Sixth-round pick Bobby Jamison-Travis is active for the first time as New York sorts through its game-day options, and the injury report from both sides has left a noticeable list of inactives on a day when roster flexibility suddenly matters more than usual. [Read more 🡒]