Copr. AP-Yuki Iwamura 2025
The New York Giants are down at The Bayou this weekend to do battle with the 0-4 New Orleans Saints. The Saints, despite their record, shouldn’t be underestimated, especially considering that New York will enter the game without their star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who will be out for the year after suffering a torn ACL in the Giants’ 21-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday; although some good news came out earlier today at the time of writing, as Nabers is now expected to be back and ready to play by the start of training camp next season.
Copr. Derrick E. Hingle-Gettty Images 2025
On the Saints side of things, quarterback Spencer Rattler made a comment earlier this week that came off as a tad arrogant regarding the Big Blue defense. While he mentioned that the front four is “one of the best in the league,” he also threw some subtle shade at the secondary, stating that “on the back end, they don’t do as much as we’ve seen from these other teams, disguise-wise, but they’ve got their wrinkles and everything.” This should be somewhat of a ‘prove it’ game for the Giants secondary, which to Rattler’s point is 25th in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 235.5 passing yards per game. Rattler isn’t a QB to be underestimated either, as he’s shown significant improvement from his rookie year with 765 passing yards, five touchdowns and a single interception through the first month of the season while also boasting an 88.4 rating. His completion percentage has also massively improved, as it’s currently at 67.1 percent, 10 percent better than last season. The Giants course of action should include planting a spy on the scrambling signal caller to keep him under pressure at all times to aid the secondary.
Copr. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images 2025
On the ground, Alvin Kamara continues to produce at a workhorse rate despite his age, and the New York defense picked up where they left off last season in regards to having one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, ranking 29th through 4 weeks. Keeping the agile Kamara between the hashmarks without allowing gaps for him to run may be the biggest difference maker in this contest.
Copr. Fox News 2025
On the offensive side of things, rookie QB Jaxson Dart had an inspiring first game under center for the G-Men, completing 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, as well as 54 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Wide receivers Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and even the seemingly forgotten Jalin Hyatt need to play at their best for the remainder of the season in Nabers’s absence, and going up against a Saints squad with the 13th best pass defense in the league should be an interesting test. Meanwhile, Cam Skattebo has been exceeding expectations with his cowbell running style and should be expected to contribute a large chunk of yards to the Giants offense.
Copr. USA Today 2025
This is a must win game for the Giants if they have any aspirations for a playoff appearance this season, especially considering the grueling schedule they face for the remainder of October. After the game concludes tomorrow, Big Blue will fly back to East Rutherford for a Thursday Night duel with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles; a team they will play twice in three weeks with a dance with the Denver Broncos in Colorado sandwiched in the middle.
-Jack Barber
Works Cited
https://www.foxsports.com/articles/nfl/2025-nfl-defense-rankings-team-pass-and-rush-stats spencer rattler stats
Leave a Reply