Giants vs. Saints: New York Grades, Notes and Quotes
There's no other way to describe the New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints game other than pure insanity.
In a wild game in which the two teams totaled 1,030 yards, the New Orleans Saints won 52-49 on a game-winning, last-second 50-yard field goal.
It was yet another heartbreaking loss for the Giants, who have become accustomed to blowing late fourth-quarter leads and losing tight games.
To make things even more interesting, that game-winning play was set up by a bizarre punt return, which featured a New Orleans fumble, eventual recovery and enormous facemask penalty by Giants punter Brad Wing.
We'll cover the records, incredible statistics and wild plays that occurred in the game, walking you through what was one of the craziest games in recent NFL history.
Position Grades for New York Giants
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | A+ |
| RB | A |
| WR | A+ |
| TE | D- |
| OL | C |
| DL | F |
| LB | F |
| DB | F |
| Special Teams | F |
| Coaching | F |
Quarterback
Seriously, what more does Eli Manning need to do in order for the Giants to win?
The veteran superstar was sensational Sunday, tossing a career-high six touchdowns and no interceptions. His 350 yards were the second-most he's thrown this season, and his 138.2 rating was his highest since Dec. 21 of last season.
With his 50-yard touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr. in the third quarter of Sunday's loss, Manning also passed Joe Montana to move to No. 10 in touchdowns in NFL history.
Running Backs
No one running back had a huge game on the ground, but the group averaged 4.1 yards per carry.
More importantly, Shane Vereen (eight catches, 60 yards, one TD) was a huge asset in the passing game as he torched the Saints through the air. Vereen's most important play was his two-yard touchdown reception right before the half, when the Giants marched up the field for 80 yards with a beautiful two-minute drive.
Wide Receivers
Odell Beckham Jr. regained his explosive form once again, catching three touchdowns on the afternoon. After a down game last week against the Cowboys, Beckham resurfaced as the NFL's most lethal wide receiver by catching eight of his nine targets for 130 yards and three scores.
Additionally, Dwayne Harris proved yet again that he's more than just a special teams specialist, hauling in two touchdown passes of his own, including a great leaping catch to tie the game at 42 in the fourth quarter.
Tight Ends
Larry Donnell left the game with a neck injury and caught just one pass for 22 yards before exiting.
The tight end position has been mostly a wasteland of nothingness this season for Big Blue, but Donnell's departure didn't hinder the offense one bit. Still, the Giants are going to need some sort of production from the position in order to be more well-balanced through the air.
Offensive Line
Manning was sacked three times Sunday, and the Giants running backs failed to reach the 100-yard mark as a unit. Still, Manning wasn't harassed and beaten all day, as he had enough time on his 41 dropbacks to amass 350 passing yards.
Defensive Line
The Giants once again failed to get any sort of pressure on the quarterback, as Drew Brees had enough time to drink a cup of coffee and watch some television in the pocket before having to throw the ball.
This unit has been horrendous all season, and anyone who thinks a one-handed Jason Pierre-Paul is going to be the savior is sorely mistaken.
Weak Giants defenses have always been masked by their excellent defensive line. Do you know what happens to a terrible defense when it can't rush the quarterback? Brees throws for 511 yards and seven touchdowns.
Linebackers
This is another horrible unit, as the Giants haven't had a legitimate linebacker since Jesse Armstead (I don't want to hear about Antonio Pierce).
Playing without J.T. Thomas and Jon Beason is no excuse, as the meager group that the Giants fielded on Sunday continued a troubling trend of getting destroyed by tight ends.
Benjamin Watson—yes, 34-year-old Benjamin Watson—had a team-high nine catches and 147 receiving yards, adding a touchdown as well.
The linebackers had no success against the running game, either, as Mark Ingram averaged five yards per carry in limited action.
Defensive Backs
Cornerback Prince Amukamara didn't play, which made a bad secondary worse.
The Giants allowed 511 passing yards and seven touchdowns, tied for the most in history, at the Superdome against the Saints. Brees actually had eight touchdowns on the season in total before having a field day against the New York defense.
Any unit that is the primary reason its team lost despite putting up 49 points should be utterly embarrassed.
Special Teams
This grade was actually a lot higher before punter Brad Wing ruined everything.
Though the Giants had some good kick and punt returns during the first three quarters, Wing's inexcusable facemask penalty on the Saints' final punt return in the last few seconds changed the entire fate of the game.
Rather than the Saints having to kick a long field goal out of desperation, Wing's 15-yard penalty put them in field-goal range, allowing Kai Forbath to nail a 50-yarder to end the game.
Coaching
How about some defensive adjustments? No? OK, then you get an F.
After being torched by Brees and company in the first half, the Giants made the same mistakes in the second half. Blown coverages and miscommunications led to the defense being dominated and embarrassed.
It's especially infuriating considering the fact the Saints were so one-dimensional on offense. The Saints threw 50 passes compared to just 26 runs on the afternoon.
Important Note No. 1: QBs Tie Record with 13 Combined Touchdowns
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If you're a fan of offensive football, Sunday's tilt in New Orleans was the game for you.
Amidst their combined 91 passes and 861 yards, Drew Brees and Eli Manning also totaled an NFL record 13 touchdowns.
They put on an absolute clinic, dismissing any chatter about Brees slowing down in his older age and Manning not being elite.
These two quarterbacks are both future Hall of Famers and showed just why on Sunday afternoon.
Important Note No. 2: Eli Manning Throws Career-High 6 TDs
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It's so unfortunate that the Giants lost this game because the talk may be more about the Giants blowing another late fourth-quarter lead and punter Brad Wing's facemask penalty rather than Eli Manning's brilliance.
Although Manning isn't always the most incredible quarterback based on statistics, his numbers from Sunday's game are amazing. While he has had many great games in his illustrious career, Manning had never thrown six touchdown passes in a game, something he did with ease in Sunday's crushing defeat.
Just as impressive was his ball security, as he didn't toss a single interception.
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Important Note No. 3: Third-Most Points in NFL History
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The 101 points that were scored at the Superdome on Sunday ranked third in NFL history for most combined points in a game.
Fittingly, the Giants were involved in the record-setting game back in 1966, when they lost to the Redskins 72-41 (113 points).
Entering the game, the Giants and Saints both ranked in the bottom third in the league in passing defense—something that was on display in a shootout in the Big Easy.
Quote No. 1: Craig Dahl
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Giants safety Craig Dahl had four tackles Sunday and then had the world's greatest understatement after the game.
"It wasn't our greatest performance on defense," the 30-year-old said, per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
The quote should have read something like "Our defense made me sick and I'm fully ashamed to have been a part of that disaster today."
Fans probably would have liked to see some fire from the defensive players who allowed so many points and squandered yet another victory in the final seconds. Dahl's casual understatement is likely infuriating to them.
Quote No. 2: Tom Coughlin
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Giants coach Tom Coughlin took the high road in his postgame press conference rather than bury certain aspects of his team publicly.
It's probably an expected move, but when certain units play so poorly, perhaps calling them out will challenge them to be better next time. With the Giants falling to .500 with the loss, it wouldn't have been the worst idea.
"We did a lot of good things but it wasn't enough in the end. ... Offense. Defense. Special teams. No matter what it is, it hurts to lose," Coughlin said, according to the Giants Twitter page.
Losing is always hard, but it's the way that this team manages to blow games that's truly frustrating.
Dan Ferrara is the Giants' game-day correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @BigRed_BR for more analysis.
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