Giants commit five turnovers in loss to Saints
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart rfeacts to losing the ball against the New Orleans Saints in the second half of an NFL game on Sunday in New Orleans. Credit: AP/Butch Dill
NEW ORLEANS — It’s easy for people to lose things in New Orleans. Inhibitions. Wallets. Logic.
The Giants lost footballs at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday. Five turnovers sent them to a 26-14 loss against a previously winless Saints team. It was a demoralizing performance after the high of beating a previously unbeaten Chargers team last week.
The culprit? Three fumbles and two interceptions. The Giants became the first team since the 2016 Jets to have turnovers on five straight drives in a single game.
“It’s a recipe for disaster,” offensive lineman Andrew Thomas said.
“Five turnovers to zero, you’re not gonna win in this league,” coach Brian Daboll said.
The Giants (1-4) didn’t help themselves with drops, a 3-for-10 showing on third down and a secondary picked apart by Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, who was 0-10 as a starter before Sunday. But the fumbles gifted the Saints 13 points, and the third was the costliest.
With the ball at the Saints’ 12-yard line to open the fourth quarter, Cam Skattebo was stopped at the line of scrimmage and had the ball stripped for his first NFL fumble. Saints safety Jordan Howden scooped it up and returned it for an 86-yard touchdown that helped make it 26-14.
“He got a good punch on it and I handed them a touchdown,” said Skattebo, who had 59 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards. “Just got to be better and hold on to the ball. They preach to take care of the ball, and that’s what I gotta do.”
It came after Darius Slayton fumbled just before halftime and Jaxson Dart dropped the ball while trying to scramble on the Giants’ opening drive of the third quarter. Both plays led to field goals by Blake Grupe, from 29 and 28 yards, that gave the Saints (1-4) a 19-14 lead.
After Skattebo’s fumble, the Giants’ next drive ended with Dart flushed out of the pocket on fourth down and his pass finding Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.
The comedy of errors ended with Dart looking for Beaux Collins but again finding Mc-Kinstry. Collins appeared to stop on his route and Mc-Kinstry reached back for his second interception.
Dart slowly walked to the sideline as his second NFL start, and first on the road, brought his first two NFL interceptions.
“It’s not good. So gotta cut that [expletive] out, and I think that starts with me just being a leader,” Dart said. “Some of those came from me and I gotta be a better example. I gotta be a better leader.”
Dart finished 26-for-40 for 202 yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Theo Johnson, and ran for 55 yards on seven carries. He also slid more when he scrambled, an improvement from taking one too many hits in his debut.
The turnovers, though, overshadowed the offense starting hot. Dart was 5-for-5 on his first drive, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Johnson.
Dart’s 20-yard scramble on the second drive kept it going until he found Johnson for a 15-yard pass. It was the first time since Nov. 15, 2020, that the Giants scored touchdowns on their first two possessions.
Tight end Daniel Bellinger also got involved early and finished with a team-high 52 receiving yards. Johnson tied Skattebo with a team-high six catches.
The Giants led 14-3 after Johnson’s second score, but the defense couldn’t produce a strong pass rush on Rattler. They finished with zero sacks for the first time this season and on the wrong end of another big play.
On the Saints’ fourth drive, Rattler found Rashid Shaheed for an 87-yard touchdown. Shaheed went inside and safety Tyler Nubin followed, but then Shaheed broke outside, caught the ball and raced away to the end zone.
Rattler finished 21-for-31 for 225 yards. Shaheed had four catches for 114 yards.
The Giants’ offense didn’t respond. Facing a third-and-2 on the next series, they ran a flea-flicker. Dart had a wide-open Slayton downfield, but the pass was underthrown and broken up.
After a delay-of-game penalty, the Giants punted. Grupe missed a 52-yard field goal to give the Giants hope that they had dodged a mistake.
However, three plays later, Slayton was stripped to start the turnover parade.
“I don’t know how I lost the ball, but obviously right there, I got to be better,” said Slayton, who also dropped a long pass from Dart. “I gotta do a better job of securing the ball while I’m running with it.”
Eight penalties for 95 yards didn’t help. A pass-interference call on Deonte Banks wiped away an interception by Jevon Holland.
Yet the loss was more about giveaways than missed chances. The Giants’ final drive fittingly ended with a turnover on downs while the Saints celebrated a clean game without a turnover.
It was the Saints’ first win since a victory over the Giants at MetLife Stadium in Week 14 last season.
It was the Giants’ 15th loss in 17 games. They also have a short week to find answers before hosting the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles on Thursday.
“We turned the ball over and we didn’t play the football we should be playing,” Skattebo said. “It’s simple as that. It’s not on the coaches. We got to take care of the ball better.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
