Looking at the box score and stats after the New Orleans Saints 27-21 overtime loss to the New York Giants, you could be forgiven for thinking the Black and Gold should have won.
The Saints converted 62% of their third downs compared to 36% for the Giants. The Saints rushed for 170 yards and possessed the ball for 37:31. The Saints led by two scores with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter. But, as Sports Talk co-host and WWL NFL analyst Mike Detillier said, “statisticals don't tell you the whole story.”
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones did pass for 402 yards with two touchdowns; but those two touchdowns accounted for 106 of his passing yards, each one happening on the first play of a drive.
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Detillier was less than impressed with the Saints pass rush. New Orleans had six sacks in their first three games but had zero against the Giants. The Saints did manage six QB hits, but that was not enough to rattles Jones.
“Yesterday, not only could Daniel Jones have made the sandwich, he could have packed it in the basket and took a little walk with it,” Detillier said. “If you can't affect the quarterback with the pass rush, these guys today, with the way the game is played, you're in trouble.”
And it did prove to be trouble for the Saints. One of those long touchdown passes for Jones came in the fourth quarter, taking just nine seconds off the clock and keeping New York in the game. Additionally, Jones was able to find receivers for gains of 28 yards and 23 yards on crucial third downs late in the fourth quarter and then in overtime.
“If you let a team hang around long enough, they're gonna bite you,” Detillier said. “They out-coached, out-schemed, and out-maneuvered the Saints in the fourth quarter and overtime. They're not the cleverest team around. And their record of 0-3 coming in here tells you a story of why.
“But they out-football chessed the Saints yesterday,” Detillier went on. “In the most critical part of the game.”
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The Giants outscored the Saints 17-7 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and that's what made the difference. In fact, after the Saints went up 21-10 with 12:09 left, the Giants outscored them 17-0 the rest of the way.
“Man, it's frustrating,” Detillier said. “It's just frustrating to watch that and know that this game slipped away from you. And when every game means something – because, listen, you're going to go through a roller coaster this year, that's just the way they're built – at the end of the season, you're going to say, 'how in the world did we lose this game?'"
New Orleans now sits at 2-2 and head back out on the road for a match-up against the Washington Football Team on Sunday at noon.