The New York Giants welcomed the New Orleans Saints to MetLife Stadium in Week 6, hoping to put the ridiculous ending to last week’s tie against the Washington Commanders behind them.
The NFC East-leading G-Men were back home, where they hadn’t lost under head coach John Harbaugh, facing a Saints team with one win in five games. Surely, we could get one normal Sunday out of this team. Right? RIGHT?!
Wrong.
The Giants lost 34-to-27 in a game that, at one point, felt like they should’ve run away with. They seemingly can never beat the Saints, which is becoming incredibly annoying. Things got so bad at one point that Harbaugh benched Jameis Winston for J.J. McCarthy in the fourth quarter, and even 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points couldn’t seal a win. New York still sits atop the division at 3-2-1, but this was a game they could've come away with a win. And that's frustrating.
Here are four instant reactions from Big Blue’s Week 6 nightmare.
4 instant reactions from Giants’ Week 6 loss to Saints
Giants' ground game is atrocious
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy led the Giants’ rushing attack with a whopping 26 yards. Second was Darnell Mooney. A wide receiver. Twenty yards. That’s how bad things got on the ground against New Orleans.
New York finished the game with 84 rushing yards on 20 carries. So much for imposing their will on the ground.
And unlike last week, Famous Jameis wasn’t about to bail the offense out with another second-half comeback. The Giants couldn’t establish anything on the ground, which left an already struggling Winston trying to do far too much through the air.
The John Harbaugh doghouse act has got to go
Holding players accountable is one thing. Holding the team back is another.
Harbs has a history of rewarding guys who limit mistakes and play hard, while making life pretty miserable for those who don’t. And with Skatt fumbling four times through five games, it certainly looks like he’s landed himself in Harbaugh’s doghouse.
But completely removing him from the offense? That’s where I have a problem.
I thought this team was supposed to be a run-it-down-your-throat juggernaut. Over the past couple of weeks, it’s looked like anything but, and Skattebo is a pretty important piece of that identity. Punishing him for his fumbling problems while watching the rushing attack go absolutely nowhere feels unnecessarily stubborn and, for lack of a better word, silly.
It might be time to consider benching Jameis Winston for good
The Jameis Winston Experience giveth, and the Jameis Winston Experience taketh.
After nearly pulling off a ridiculous comeback against Washington last week, Winston came crashing back down to Earth against New Orleans. The 32-year-old completed 14 of 26 passes for 152 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions while taking four sacks.
Following his second pick, with New York trailing 34-10 in the fourth quarter, Harbaugh finally pulled the plug and turned to J.J. McCarthy.
The former 10th overall pick finished 11-of-21 for 243 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and looked like he won't be the backup behind Winston much longer.
Big Blue heads to Houston next week to face a Texans team riding a two-game winning streak. I’ve already floated the idea of McCarthy making his first start in Week 9, following the Week 8 bye, but after Sunday’s performance, we might have to move that timeline up to Week 7. I still wouldn't expect Harbaugh to bench Winston after one quarter of essentially garbage time from McCarthy, but he showed enough that it wouldn't be crazy for that to be a reality.
The Giants deserved to lose
For a second there, it felt like the G-Men were going to run away with an easy win. They were up 10 late in the second quarter and seemingly in complete control. Then everything fell apart, with New Orleans eventually building a 34-10 lead before Harbaugh finally pulled Winston.
To McCarthy’s credit, EIGHTEEN gave Giants fans something to watch in the fourth quarter, making big play after big play as Big Blue clawed its way back into the game. But four turnovers and three quarters of mostly uninspiring football aren’t exactly a recipe for success, especially against a Saints team that came into MetLife with one win.
The Giants made the final score look a whole lot more respectable than the game actually was, but falling behind by 24 points against a 1-4 team is a pretty good way to lose a game you really had no business losing in the first place.
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