Malik Nabers’ absence loomed large in Giants’ 5-turnover meltdown

The New York Giants were supposed to be the favorites heading into their matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Even though the Giants were without superstar Malik Nabers, who is out for the sesaon with a torn ACL, they were facing a Saints team that was 0-4 and has looked dreadful for the first four weeks of the season.

As it turns out, Nabers' absence was felt heavily for the Giants. New York looked like they were going to cruise to a victory after scoring touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. But then, the offense imploded. Five turnovers on five consecutive drives.

Long story short, the Giants handed the Saints a 26-14 win.

After the game, Giants head coach Brian Daboll was asked about the five turnovers on consecutive drives, and he said that it's "hard to do," via ESPN's Jordan Raanan. Well, the Giants made that impossible task look like an easy feat.

There's no other way to think about it — the Giants are going to have a rough time winning games without Nabers.

Giants offense implodes without Malik Nabers in turnover-filled nightmare in New Orleans

It all started in the second quarter, when quarterback Jaxson Dart completed a pass to Darius Slayton, only to fumble it. That set up the Saints to kick a go-ahead field goal before halftime. On the opening drive of the second half, Dart fumbled the ball while trying to scramble upfield. 10 plays later, the Saints picked up a field goal to extend their lead to 19-14.12 plays later, the dam officially burst open, as rookie running back Cam Skattebo fumbled on the Saints' 12-yard line, which was picked up and returned for a 86-yard touchdown by Jordan Howden.

Just like that, the game was essentially over. But there were still two more turnovers. There was the pass attempt from Dart to Jalin Hyatt was intercepted by Kool-Aid McKinstry. The next drive, Dart threw another pass that was intercepted by McKinstry, but it happened after Beaux Collins appeared to stop running his route.

In case the game footage didn't look bad enough, there are statistics that don't paint a pretty picture. According to Twitter account Doug Analytics, the Giants lost a total of 28 expected points on four plays — the Skattebo fumble, Dart fumble, Slayton fumble, and Dart's interception on a pass to Collins.

If you want to win games, you can't turn the ball over. As mentioned earlier, the Giants looked like they were going to have an easy victory based on the first couple of drives. But turning the ball over five times gives your opponent more than enough time to get back into the game.

It's impossible for the Giants to replace Nabers. He's a true one-of-one talent. But without him, you see the struggles the Giants have to deal with. Whether it was Slayton dropping passes, Collins not finishing his routes, or Hyatt being a non-factor. That puts more pressure on the team. Dart didn't help matters with his decision-making, and Skattebo's fumble was a game-ender. Nabers makes Dart's job easier, it's as simple as that.

Next up for the Giants are the Philadelphia Eagles. To have a chance against them, they can't turn the ball over like they did in the Big Easy. With a quick turnaround on Thursday, they need to figure things out, and quickly.