The 4-8 Saints are coming to town
When they take the field at MetLife Stadium on Sunday it will be more than two months since the New York Giants have won a football game. They are 2-10, with hopes of showing progress from last season’s 6-11 dashed long ago. They have lost seven straight games. They are 0-6 at home.
Sunday’s matchup against the 4-8 Saints, who themselves had a seven-game losing streak this season and saw head coach Dennis Allen get fired because of it, might be the Giants’ last best chance at a victory this season.
Consider what remains for the Giants after Sunday’s game against New Orleans:
Week 15: A home game against the 8-5 Baltimore Ravens that Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson is already looking forward to:
Lamar Jackson on his mom’s reaction after the game:
“She just cussed me out. I’m mad [punches into his palm], so we’re going to get after it, bruh, I’m not going to lie to you. I can’t wait for this bye to get on. We got the Giants coming up. I’m ready to go.”
What did she say?… pic.twitter.com/AH3lJUDuwm
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) December 2, 2024
Week 16: The Giants are on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are a middling 6-6 team, but that is good enough to have them tied for the NFC South Division lead. They will have a lot to play for, and won’t be looking past the Giants.
Week 17: The Giants will host the Indianapolis Colts. The 6-7 Colts are another middling team, but they are also desperately clinging to hopes of a playoff berth. Maybe, just maybe that will be beyond their grasp by the time they come to New Jersey, which would be good for the Giants.
Week 18: The Giants finish the season with a game against the Philadelphia Eagles that is sure to feature a stadium overrun by noisy Eagles fans. It might also feature Saquon Barkley looking to set an NFL single-season rushing record and set himself up to win an MVP award. Won’t that be fun?
So, if the Giants don’t want to finish the season 2-15 with 12 straight losses, finding a way to defeat the Saints would be a good idea.
Fans might be primarily concerned about the Giants getting the highest possible pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Players, though, crave that winning feeling.
“Regardless of the situation, nobody goes out there and plans to lose or wants to lose,” said wide receiver Darius Slayton. “So, at the end of the day, you prepare and you practice and you get your mind and body right to win. So, regardless of what your current predicament might be, the ultimate goal is to go out there every Sunday and win the game.”
Here are some of the other story lines for Week 14.
Tommy or Drew?
Will it be Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock at quarterback for the Giants on Wednesday? Fans, of course, seem to want DeVito:
I would choose Lock. Yes, he is sort of Jameis Winston lite with the peaks and valleys in his play, but the upside for explosive plays is there. Unless, of course, trying to win isn’t the point.
Life without Dexter
The Giants already have the worst rushing defensive in the NFL. Well, tied for the worst with the Saints at 5.1 yards allowed per rushing attempt.
How bad the rushing defense will get, not to mention the pass rush without Lawrence manhandling two blockers on almost every snap, is hard to even think about.
But, now the Giants have to not only think about it but experience it.
“Obviously he’s our rock in the middle there,” said linebacker Micah McFadden of Lawrence. “Not only on the field, but he’s our captain and our leader off the field. He’s a voice within our locker room and especially on the defensive side of the ball. It’s a big blow to us. But it’s difficult when you don’t have that caliber of a player on the field. He’s always doing his job and he’s going to make sure that A-gap is closed every time he’s in there.”
I have been talking repeatedly about this in recent weeks, but Lawrence’s absence highlights one of the things GM Joe Schoen can be faulted for — not properly stocking the defensive line.
Every coach and GM talks about having a deep defensive line rotation. Even with Lawrence, the Giants didn’t have one.
They traded Leonard Williams at the 2023 trade deadline. No issue with that. The Giants weren’t signing him long-term and they got a second-round pick that they turned into Brian Burns, who is several years younger than Williams. They lost A’Shawn Robinson in free agency. Nothing you can do when a guy is a free agent and wants to leave.
The problem is the lack of reinforcements. The only addition to the line was undrafted free agent Elijah Chatman. As good a story as he is, we see the limitations in his game due to his size. The only defensive linemen Schoen has drafted are D.J. Davidson (2022, Round 5) and Jordon Riley (2023, Round 7).
That is certainly not nearly enough resources used at a critical position.
