EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Despite 34 unanswered points and four takeaways against the New York Giants, it feels like the New Orleans Saints narrowly escaped Week 6 with a win.
The team’s 34-27 win won’t bring the confidence that New Orleans would like to have instilled after a tumultuous week following a critical review from team owner Gayle Benson.
The Saints ripped off another slow start against the Giants going scoreless in the first quarter for the 16th time since Head Coach Kellen Moore took over. New Orleans also fell into its 18th double-digit hole since the beginning of 2025, trailing 10-0 during the second quarter.
However, it looked like the Saints were ready to overcome the slow start with an outpour of 34 consecutive points, including an 18-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Tyler Shough to wide receiver Chris Olave that looked like it might be the dagger.
After that, the Giants pulled starting quarterback Jameis Winston, who had thrown two interceptions in the game, leading to the Saints also pulling their starters after taking a 24-point lead. The decision would be short-lived however, after running back C.J. Donaldson lost a fumble with the backups in the field.
Moore noted that it was the fumble that spurred the need to get Shough back in the game. But even after doing so, the Saints gave up 17 consecutive points without being able to put the game away on offense until after a fourth-and-1 toss fell incomplete in the endzone with six seconds left that the offense earned the right to kneel the clock out for a victory.
Aside from the kneel down, Saints held the ball with a lead three times in the last seven minutes. All three possessions resulted in three-and-outs which burned only 1:06, 1:07 and 1:07 in time of possession before giving the ball back to New York.
The biggest takeaway from this game is that even though New Orleans ended up showing some positives, a must after the team’s three-game losing streak, it still has to learn how to close out games.
Offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga spoke to LouisianaSports.net after the game on the lesson’s importance and how to go about instilling it.
“Don’t get comfortable,” he said. “There was a point where we’re up by 24. At that point, you just got to keep your foot on the gas and don’t get comfortable. Like, ‘alright, we got this game in the bag,’ we don’t. You can’t make a game that close. They had an opportunity to tie it up, luckily, we came out with the win. As the offense, we’ve just got to end the game with the ball in our hands.”
Against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, the Saints started fast and pulled away for an 11-point second-half lead. However, New Orleans ultimately fell in a loss by eight points.
This week, the Saints are reminded of the importance of finishing games in a winning environment. However, that shouldn’t lessen the sense of urgency to get this issue figured out quickly.
New Orleans got a win, ended its losing streak, found some good things in the run game and won in imperfect conditions. All of that is true. But the next big step for them will be learning to stay in front when they get there.
