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Al Bello / Getty Images
The New Orleans Saints earned their third straight victory, defeating the New York Giants 33-18 on Sunday.
Drew Brees continued his hot start to the 2018 NFL season with 18 assists in 32 attempts for a total of 217 yards. Alvin Kamara had a big day on the ground with 134 yards and three touchdowns in 19 races.
Odell Beckham Jr., on the other hand, did not receive a touchdown at the reception after four games as he caught seven passes for 60 yards on Sunday.
Giants fail to maximize Saquon Barkley's ability to play, OBJ
In other words, there is no reason why an offense including Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. should earn 299 yards against what has been one of the worst defenses of the NFL. Barkley had 44 yards and one touchdown on 10 runs while capturing six passes for 56 yards.
The Giants' offense caught fire late in the fourth quarter, but it was too late to make a difference.
Manning has never been one to regularly take on many risks. Of the quarterbacks with at least 1,000 career passes, he is 103rd in yards per attempt (6.99), according to Pro Football Reference.
Many could not ignore the fact that Manning averaged 6.2 yards per attempt on Sunday.
Michael David Smith @MichaelDavSmith
Today, the Saints had the worst defense against the NFL pass.
Today, Eli Manning averages 5.1 yards per pass against the Saints D. This includes 2.1 yards per pass when you target Odell Beckham.
Nick Mensio @NickMensio
#Saints get annihilated over defense this season. Of course, Eli Manning does not challenge them. Start all short passes. The longest pass is 11 yards. Giants #
Dan Rosen @drosennhl
Eli Manning will set an NFL record for most passes under 5 yards in a season. Its completion percentage will be eleven billion. The Giants will finish 3-13. Why Odell, if that's the offense?
Barkley had 5,338 yards in three years at Penn State and Beckham reached the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. Yet neither player is realizing his potential with the Giants in 2018.
Manning turns 38 in January and is in her 15th year in the NFL. At this point, he is not going to change his approach. It is up to the coaching staff to bypass the limits imposed by Manning to ensure that Barkley and Beckham are not wasted.
Dominant Defense Encouraging Development for the Saints
In three weeks, the Saints allowed the third highest number of yards (421.0 per game) and ranked 28th in defensive efficiency, Football Outsiders.
Some will rightly say that the radical defense of New Orleans is partly due to a fault of the Giants. But it was the same team that gave 417 passing yards and four touchdowns to Ryan Fitzpatrick in the first week and 246 yards to Tyrod Taylor in the second week.
Joel A. Erickson @JoelAErickson
The Giants have averaged only 4.1 yards per game and the Saints have no bag yet. New Orleans plays defense games
Judy Battista @judybattista
Note: the Saints had the defense with the lowest score of the league at the entrance in this match. The Giants scored 10 points. Ugly.
Be that as it may, Sunday's victory represents progress for the saints. The Giants had a pair of 75-yard drives in the second half after opening the game with a 10-game touchdown and 75 yards. However, for long periods, New York had trouble moving the ball.
Given the explosion of the Saints' attack, New Orleans may only need an average defense of the league to position itself as a true competitor of the Super Bowl. An elite defense would be a luxury so few teams can keep up with the pace of Brees, Kamara, Michael Thomas & Co.
Giants need a healthy defense as soon as possible
The defense of the Giants was probably equally impressive, especially since starters Olivier Vernon and Eli Apple were injured.
Ralph Vacchiano @RVacchianoSNY
The Saints entered this match with an average of 34.7 points and 428 yards. In three quarters, they have 19 points and 235 yards. … The defense of the giants is doing its part.
Stapleton Art @art_stapleton
Big stand by defense of the giants. It was a winning performance to steal a Shurmur-ism for them.
Now, return OBJ on the platform.
Nice catch.
Kamara scored on a four-yard touchdown run to make it 26-10 in the fourth quarter. The player ate 6h39 from the clock after a worn-out Giants defense has already done a lot to keep the team in the game. It was no surprise when Kamara escaped free for a 49-yard touchdown with 2:06 left in the game.
Jordan Raanan @JordanRaanan
The Giants' defense finally broke. They had held on and kept them in the match for the most part. The responsibility for this last loss does not begin with them.
Jake Brown @JakeBrownRadio
The defense of the giants was clearly gassed. They were on the field almost the entire match. Down at the end.
Having a healthy Vernon and Apple would certainly not have spilled the result for the Giants, although they would certainly have helped.
The Giants bid farewell in the 9th week. Previously, New York played against the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. These teams sit sixth, 19th, 12th and 10th in offensive efficiency, by Football Outsiders.
On paper, the Giants should have the means to keep pace with one of these four teams in a track competition. The first four games in New York provide little reason to believe this would prove.
For the team to return to .500 after starting rounds 1 to 3, the defense must replicate Sunday's performance, and recover Vernon and Apple would facilitate this work.
And after?
The Saints return home to face the Washington Redskins on October 8th before their 6th week break. The Giants remain in the NFC South for their next game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte on October 7th.
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