The New Orleans Saints are still seeking their first win of the 2025 season, and they'll host a New York Giants squad that just took down theirs in an upset of the previously unbeaten Chargers.
But that win didn't come without challenges, notably the loss of star WR Malik Nabers to a significant knee injury. Saints legend Drew Brees sees the Week 5 matchup as one that should result in that long-awaited win, as he explained on WWL Radio this week.
"The team is progressing and they’re right on the cusp, just have to find a way to win, you know, break the seal," Brees told WWL's Bobby Hebert. "I think there’s a lot of hype around the Giants and Jaxson Dart now and that kind of thing, but I think this kind of sets up perfectly for us. I think we’re gonna have an excellent defensive plan against them and then offensively we’ve got to handle these two pass-rushers and try to make some plays.”
Hear the full interview with Drew Brees in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
The task of stopping rookie Jaxson Dart is an interesting one, considering there's a game's worth of tape to go off and not much else. Dart was effective but not prolific with his arm, completing 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, though that TD was a shovel pass to TE Theo Johnson near the goal line.
The rookie's biggest impact came on the ground, with 10 carries for 54 yards, including a 15-yard TD run. He'll have that in common with Saints QB Spencer Rattler, who is playing similarly to this point in his career but has yet to pick up a win in 10 starts.
"I think what [Dart] brought, just in regards to this fire and energy, like, you could tell the whole sideline was electrified, the whole team was just kind of playing at another level," Brees said. "They really seemed to respond to him. ... They’re now the team that’s riding high coming into our home, and we have the opportunity to do the same thing that they just did, right? I think that we’re going to have an excellent gameplan for him. I know defensively the type of leadership that we have on that side of the ball, they’re gonna take this type of game personally."
One way the Saints can make life more difficult on the rookie is to avoid turnovers, which was as big a factor against the Chargers as anything. The Giants intercepted Justin Herbert twice, in both instances taking the ball down to the Chargers' 3-yard line and setting up virtually guaranteed scoring opportunities. That accounted for 11 of the Giants' 24 points in a game they won 21-18.
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The biggest positive coming out of Buffalo for the Saints was how they executed their offense. The only turnover of the game came on a trick play with a ball thrown by Chris Olave. Rattler has thrown just one interception on the year, and if he continues to execute the gameplan set up by Kellen Moore and Co., things should go well. The Giants are at their best when they can play with a lead and let their stacked pass rush -- Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter -- tee off on the passing attack.
How do you stop that? Run. The. Ball.
“There’s always a strategy, and typically the teams that are great rushing the passer, yea, you pound ‘em and you pound ‘em early so that you wear them down," Brees said, "and it makes it to where those ... pass rush downs you’ve beat them up a little bit before you get to that point."
The Saints (0-4) host the Giants (1-3) at noon Sunday inside the Caesars Superdome. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.
More from Brees
Were you encouraged by what you saw out in Buffalo?
“I absolutely was. We took it to the 4th quarter against arguably one of the better teams and the favorites to win it all in the league. So, yea, to me that’s very promising. I mean, we’re — you hate to sit here and say hey, we’re highly competitive. There’s no, you know, consolation prize, because hey, we’re 0-4, right? But at the same time, we’ve had a chance to win the first two games, certainly. Things got away from us in Seattle. Last week, hey, we were right in the fight to the end, so I think you have to be encouraged.”
How does a QB fix accuracy issues?
“To me, accuracy is trust and anticipation. Do you trust the scheme, what you’re seeing, trust the guy you’re throwing to and then that allows you to anticipate the throw and then when you do that in most cases, like, you’re throwing the ball to the spot that you’re throwing to on time and on rhythm. Creating a rhythm for yourself as a QB is so important.
"That’s why I think the relationship between QB and play-caller is so important because look, there’s plenty of time where man, you got a little off rhythm, or you got a little off-track or you’re trying to get back into rhythm very quickly, and so having, you know, whether it’s those set of plays, those set of pass plays, whatever it is to just kind of help you, man, find a completion, get back on track and then develop that confidence and momentum again that just allows you to go out and operate. I always felt like playing the quarterback position at a high level, man, you’re really not thinking a lot, you’re reacting. You’re anticipating and you’re playing with a level of speed and anticipation that just makes you operate at a high level, and so I think that’s really the key to all this. His ability to trust and anticipate the guys that he’s throwing to and then doing it on a consistent basis, and then when he does get off track, find those ways to get back on rhythm and reset.”