Giants grades vs. Saints: Defense gets high marks; otherwise, not so much
Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns of the Giants reacts after a play against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OFFENSE: D
The Giants spent most of the afternoon working on a solid “F” here, doing next to nothing against one of the NFL’s weakest defenses. But give them credit for a late push behind Drew Lock, who began showing flashes of competence throwing and running. Lock started 0-for-8 and 3-for-14 passing but rallied to finish 21-for-49 for 227 yards and ran five times for 59. Malik Nabers played through injuries to catch five passes for 79 yards. Bottom line, though: 11 points. The Giants are averaging 14.9 a game this season.
DEFENSE: B
Yes, the Giants allowed two touchdown drives, including a 98-yarder, but this was an impressive effort by a unit devastated by injuries, especially on the line. The Giants totaled 13 tackles for loss, five by Micah McFadden alone. The Giants even ended their NFL-record streak of 11 games without an interception when Tre Hawkins III grabbed one. It was their first interception since opening day. Alvin Kamara ran 17 times for only 44 yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS: F
There were some good moments, including stopping a fake punt by the Saints and blocking a long field goal. But nothing can erase three plays that cost the Giants the game: There was a holding penalty on Greg Stroman Jr. that erased a 56-yard punt return for a TD by Ihmir Smith-Marsette. There was a penalty on Jake Kubas for bodyslamming a defender that erased a 48-yard field goal by Graham Gano. And, finally, the Saints’ Bryan Bresee blocked a 35-yard field-goal try by Gano that sealed the loss. Yuck.
COACHING: D
The coaching staff did a creditable job patching things together from spare parts, especially on defense, but 12 penalties for 112 yards won’t cut it. Neither will 11 points. Did we mention the Giants are 2-11 overall, including 0-7 at home, and have lost eight games in a row?
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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