The New Orleans Saints will be taking on the New York Giants this week and three key matchups could end up helping to decide the direction of the game and its result.
While the quarterbacks will both be expected to light up MetLife Stadium, their pass-catchers lead a list of those who must win their game-long battles with the defenders lined up opposite them.
Meanwhile, a first-round pick on the Saints’ offensive line will draw some impressive competition.
Saints WR Chris Olave vs. Giants cornerbacks
The Saints’ best weapon continues to be a weekly focus in these matchups. Wide receiver Chris Olave is quarterback Tyler Shough’s top target. Still the No. 2 receiving yards leader in the league, he’ll now match up with the impressive cornerback tandem of Deonte Banks (the Week 4 Defensive Player of the Week) and Greg Newsome.
Olave’s 537 receiving yards have him comfortably placed atop the team in the category and after a 44-yard receiving day in a tough Week 5 game for the offense, he’ll be looking to bounce back with a big performance against the Vikings.
Saints cornerbacks vs. Giants WR Malik Nabers
On the other side, top wide receiver Malik Nabers has seemingly hit his stride with quarterback Jameis Winston. Nabers is coming off of back-to-back 100-yard receiving days and will face a Saints defense that has been prone to letting up big plays. Winston and Nabers will be hunting.
It will be up to cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley (with the occasional rotation of Martin Emerson Jr.) who will be tasked with trying to limit Nabers of LSU from the snap. Meanwhile, a big day of responsibility tracking the deep ball could be on the way for safety Julian Blackmon.
Giants EDGE Abdul Carter vs. Saints RT Taliese Fuaga
One of the league’s highest pressure generators will square off with the tackles credited with surrendering the most pressures so far through the first five weeks. This is going to be a big test for Saints starting right tackle Taliese Fuaga.
Fuaga’s 21 pressures are the most surrendered by any offensive lineman tracked by Pro Football Focus (PFF) and now he’ll match up with Giants edge rusher Adbul Carter over 50% of defensive snaps if all things remain equal for Carter’s pass rush distribution so far this season.
Carter’s 17.4% pass rush win percentage is ranked No. 4 by PFF among all defenders with at least 150 pass rush snaps.
Limiting Carter’s ability to get the quarterback (only two sacks so far this season despite 17 total pressures) will be an important piece of Sunday’s matchup for Fuaga, who is immensely talented, but has fans waiting for a bounce back to a slower start to the season than expected.
