The New York Giants were buzzing in the Big Easy. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart led two eight-play drives to start the game, which resulted in a pair of Theo Johnson touchdowns (59 and 70 yards). The offense had a good rhythm with a solid mixture of run and pass plays, while the defense applied pressure on Spencer Rattler and the Saints’ offense. New Orleans kicked a field goal on their second drive, which was primarily due to an ill-advised Tae Banks defensive pass interference penalty against Chris Olave.
The mistakes and miscues were the story of the Giants’ Week 5 loss. The Saints were far from perfect, missing a pair of field goals, but the Giants were careless with the football. Brian Daboll’s squad turned the football over five times. Giants’ receivers dropped passes, and the Giants were culpable for eight penalties worth 95 yards.
The game delivered an instant jolt of adrenaline, but it faded quickly and gave way to disappointment – yet I question even if that brief rush was preferable to the lifeless product Giants fans have grown all too accustomed to. Let’s review the meltdown in this edition of five plays:
Play(s) 1: Early drops
The Giants were cruising before this play. Two touchdown drives to start the game – the first time the New York Giants scored touchdowns on their first two offensive drives in five seasons. On the first play of the third drive, Dart threw this deep ball to Darius Slayton, and the football found the hands of the veteran receiver, but Slayton could not hold on.
Still, the Giants were able to pick up a first down with a Jaxson Dart 11-yard scramble to give New York a first-and-ten situation at the Giants’ 46-yard line. Brandon Staley had his defense in soft leverage presnap, so Dart targeted Devin Singletary at the line of scrimmage outside the numbers but the veteran running back dropped the football. What could have been a second-and-four resulted in a second-and-ten, with Jamie Gillan’s first punt quickly followed. That punt was fair caught by Rasheed Shaheed…
Play 2: Rashid Shaheed touchdown
The two drops on the Giants third drive gave Spencer Rattler the football at his own 13-yard line:
Kellen Moore dialed up the perfect deep shot against Cover-6, targeting Shaheed – who hit 21.72 MPH on his 87-yard touchdown – matched up with Tyler Nubin, a safety repeatedly exposed by speed in 2025. Juwan Johnson (83) held Paulson Adebo (21) on the deep curl. Shaheed (22) just ate into Nubin’s leverage and exploded back outside the numbers. Rattler (2) delivered an excellent pass to his speedster, and New Orleans seized a massive momentum swing.
Play(s) 3: Fumbles
Two drives later, with the Giants tenuously maintaining a 14-13 lead, Dart found Slayton on a 9-yard slant, but DeMario Davis (56) punched the football out for Jonas Sanker (33) to find and scoop up:
Grupe kicked a field goal and the Saints went into halftime with a 16-14 lead. Not the worst situation with New York receiving the football to start the third quarter. However, Dart’s fingers failed to grasp the football as the rookie quarterback evaded the pocket:
Dart had excellent protection and waited a bit too long to leave the pocket. He just dropped the ball and veteran Cam Jordan (94) fell on top of the football to end the Giants’ seven-play, 18-yard drive that featured a lot of running the football. That rushing approach ended up biting them in the end after the third – and final – fumble by the Giants.
The Saints turned the Dart fumble into three points, so the score was just 19-14. On the 12th play of a Giants’ drive that featured eight rushing plays, this happened:
Rookie running back Cam Skattebo put the ball on the deck and the rest was history. The Saints now took a 26-14 lead, along with all of the momentum – 23 unanswered points to go along with two missed field goals.
Play(s) 4: Kool-Aid McKinstry “Ohhhh yeahhh”
Kool-Aid McKinstry recorded two interceptions on the Giants’ two ensuing drives, effectively ending any hope that New York could muster some kind of fight after allowing the game to slowly slide through their bent and bruised fingers. Here are those two interceptions:
The first interception was not the best decision by McKinstry, due to the situation being fourth-and-6. Still, he recorded his first career interception and found his second on the next drive, a second-and-20. Deflated would be one word to describe the state of the Giants at the end of the fourth quarter.
Play(s) 5: The Giants’ wide receiver problem
Yes, this is the same play as the second McKinstry pick, but it’s broader than just this one instance. Beaux Collins (81) was pressed so hard by McKinstry that he just stopped his slant and allowed the second-year defensive back to intercept Dart’s pass. This was just after Collins failed to secure a third-and-3 pass over the middle of the field that may have netted 15 yards. The throw was not perfect, but one a wide receiver in the NFL should catch.
Collins appeared in over his head, and the Giants did not call up Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad, so Collins – and Jalin Hyatt – were forced to play 11 personnel down the stretch of the game post Darius Slayton’s hamstring injury. Collins is a rookie UDFA and it showed. Hyatt is a former Biltendkoff Award winner, and that does not show. Hyatt earned three targets and caught none of them.
Hyatt was jostling with a cornerback on one deep target that he could have realistically came down with, but these few opportunities he’s received inspire little hope that he can capture this moment.
On the Giants’ drive after the Shaheed touchdown, Daboll and Mike Kafka drew up a flea flicker that worked well other than the execution. The defense bit down on the run, and Darius Slayton was wide open for Dart. Unfortunately, the rookie quarterback severely underthrew the pass and it went incomplete, resulting in a Giants’ punt. This was a pivotal moment early in the game that would have acted as an excellent response to the Shaheed play.
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