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The New York Giants beat the New Orleans Saints, 21-21, in overtime Sunday to win their first game of the season and move to 1-3 this season. The Saints are down to 2-2 this season.
The Giants were down 11 early in the fourth quarter and came back to tie the game at 21 and force overtime. Jones led the Giants onto the field to set up a 6-yard touchdown from Saquon Barkley in overtime that gave the Giants the win.
How big was that victory for the Giants?
“We’re just sticking to the process,” said head coach Joe Judge. “We can’t ride this roller coaster every week.”
How did it happen
On the fourth and third at 3:51 in the first quarter, Leonard Williams and Lorenzo Carter stopped Alvin Kamara just before the first down to force a turnaround on the downs and give the ball back to the Giants.
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has been criticized for not giving more shots to Kadarius Toney and the acquisition of free agent Kenny Golladay. With injuries to Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, Toney and Golladay saw more playing time early on and they quickly capitalized on it.
In the Giants’ next practice, New York ran down the field to the Saints 16-yard line. Instead of going forward on fourth-one, Judge chose to be conservative and hit the basket from 35 yards. Graham Gano’s kick, however, veered to the left, ending the kicker’s 37-goal streak.
In 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 am, Jones connected on a deep pass in the middle of John Ross III for a 52-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 7-0 lead. For a Giants offense that lacked explosive plays (only having one passing game over 40 yards before today’s game), that was a step in the right direction.
After three trips to Giants territory without scoring, 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 streak to tie the score at seven before entering the locker room.
The Saints opened the scoring in the opening practice of the second half when Taysom Hill rushed for an eight-yard touchdown at 13:34 to complete a 75-yard three-game drive and give the Saints a 14-7.
Toney and Golladay continued to stay involved on the Giants’ next drive as Jones led the team up the field to the Saints three-yard line. But the red zone problems continued as New York couldn’t score and had to settle for a field goal, bringing the score to 14-10 at 8:40 in the third quarter.
The Saints added to their lead as Hill rushed for another eight-yard score at 12:14 in the fourth quarter to make it 21-10.
After a 26-yard punt return by CJ 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 on the sideline. Jones rushed into the end zone to convert the conversion to two points and put the Giants down to under three at 7:01 in the fourth quarter.
The Giants recovered the ball with 3:01 left and drove onto the field to set up a 48-yard field goal by Gano. Gano converted the kick to send the Giants into overtime.
Barkley rushed for 6 yards in overtime to seal a 27-21 victory for the Giants. Here’s 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 goalie to start for New York in as many games.
- Week 1: Shane Lemieux (knee)
- Week 2: Nick Gates (leg)
- Week 3: Ben Bredeson (main)
- Week 4: Matt Skura
The statistics of the first half
The Giants and Saints were tied, 7-7, at halftime. Jones finished 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 ran for 24 yards.
The Giants had six first downs while the Saints had 11. New York had 174 offensive yards while New Orleans had 182.
The Saints dominated the battle for possession in the first half, holding the ball for 8:28 p.m. versus 9:32 a.m. for the Giants.
Statistics
- 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 a touchdown.
- Kenny Golladay led the team with six receptions for 116 yards.
- Kadarius Toney recorded six receptions for 78 yards, a season high.
- Cornerback James Bradberry recorded an 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 rest of the game.
Inactive Giants
- OL Ben Bredeson (hand)
- WR Sterling Shepard (hamstrings)
- WR Darius Slayton (hamstrings)
- CB Josh Jackson
- CB Sam Beal
- BY Raymond Johnson
And after?
The Giants travel to AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys, their division rivals, on October 10 at 4:25 pm The game will be broadcast on FOX.
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