The New Orleans Saints have been in search of winning plays over the first month of the season. They finally found one — in fact, they found several — in a much-needed, 26-14 win over the visiting New York Giants.
The Saints forced five turnovers on five consecutive drives to take control of the game, with one returned 86 yards for a touchdown by Jordan Howden. They were the first team to achieve such a feat since the 2016 season. The win was the first in the careers of both head coach Kellen Moore and QB Spencer Rattler, who had started his career 0-10 dating back to last season.
“It’s a resilient group and the play style, you never know which play is going to make a difference in the game through all four quarters," Moore said, "and I think our defense just did an incredible job just attacking the football, and to create five turnovers in a game is really, really special.”
The Saints found themselves in a 14-3 hole early in this one, but after a second Blake Grupe field field goal, Rattler connected with speedster Rashid Shaheed on an 87-yard touchdown pass. The play electrified a Superdome crowd that wasn't at its loudest in the early stages of the game, and the Saints finished off the half with another Grupe field goal to take a 16-14 lead into the break. The Saints used that momentum to shut out the Giants the rest of the way, with rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo struggling to sustain offense after a hot start.
Rattler finished the day completing 20 of 30 passes for 225 yards and that touchdown, though the Saints did struggle in the red zone, settling for short field goals on all three trips. Shaheed led the team with four catches, 114 yards, and the Saints’ only offensive touchdown. Chris Olave caught seven passes for 59 yards.
The Saints rushing game was mostly a non-factor on Sunday, though it was able to grind out several first downs to churn through clock in the 4th quarter. The team netted only 88 yards on the ground, with Kendre Miller racking up nearly half that total. He finished with 41 yards on 10 carries. Alvin Kamara rushed for 27 yards on eight touches, while Rattler scrambled for 21 yards on eight runs.
The Saints did get a boost from Taysom Hill, who saw action for the first time since suffering a major knee injury last December. The numbers don't flash off the page with -1 yards on 6 carries, but he did have multiple first down conversions, including a 19-yard completion to Juwan Johnson in the third quarter. Foster Moreau also made his debut after a major knee injury late in last season, but he did not record a stat.
The Saints defense delivered big-time in this matchup with two Kool-Aid McKinstry interceptions three fumble recoveries. Demario Davis forced one late in the first half with the Giants still holding a 14-13 lead, and Howden's scoop and score came after Bryan Bresee was able to punch the ball out of Cam Skettebo's grasp. The defense’s takeaways directly led to 13 of the Saints’ points. The Saints defense allowed the Giants to gain 335 yards of total offense, much of which was churned up on the first two drives of the game.
The Saints gained 332 yards of total offense and missed multiple opportunities, including a pair of Grupe misses from 52 and 46 yards, though he did make a kick from 53 early in the game. His early season struggles have not gone away and he's now 8-13 on the season (61.5%).
"You’ve got to get in the win column first and then obviously you can carry momentum, hopefully, moving forward," Moore said. "We can feel it. We know what it looks like, we know what it feels like and now we can keep getting better. That’s what an NFL season is about, you’ve got to keep getting better and more opportunities will come ahead of us."
The Giants appeared to be on cruise control early in the game, with Dart leading back-to-back touchdown drives on their first two possessions, both passes to TE Theo Johnson.
The Saints’ defense was opportunistic to start the second half, with Cam Jordan the beneficiary of a bizarre play where it appeared that Dart's own knee knocked out the ball for a fumble as he went to scramble. The Saints worked their way down to the Giants’ nine-yard line, but again, the Black-and-Gold settled for a Grupe field goal, this one a 28-yarder.
Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry picked off Dart twice in the game, the first coming on a 4th down as he worked all the way across the field and made a play on the ball. The takeaway was the first of his career, though it did cost the Saints some field position that would've been saved had he simply knocked the ball down. The Saints offense failed to move beyond their own territory on the ensuing drive, punting back to the Giants. McKinstry promptly picked off Dart again on the following drive, locking up the victory for the Saints. That drive set up Grupe's second miss of the day.
Saints edge rusher Carl Granderson appeared to have sacked Dart on the first play of the ensuing drive, but referee Alan Eck called a roughing the passer penalty that left Saints head coach Kellen Moore and the Superdome crowd perplexed, to say the least. When asked after the game what he saw on that play, he kept it diplomatic:
"I saw a sack," he said, while adding that the frustration is based in not being able to coach his player to do anything else. Granderson hit Dart hard on the play, but it appeared to be legal, with no contact to the head or neck and without driving the QB into the ground.
The Saints defense responded by forcing a turnover on downs six plays later, allowing Rattler to take a knee and run out the clock on the Saints first win of 2025.
Dart finished 26 of 40 passes for 225 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks. Dart also rushed for 55 yards, second only to Skattebo, who ran for 59 yards on 15 carries.
The Saints (1-4) will host the New England Patriots (2-2) next Sunday at noon in the Superdome. The Giants (1-4) host the Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) on Thursday Night Football.