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The 0-1 New Orleans Saints are taking on the 1-0 New York Giants at the Meadowlands and you can follow along here for updates, some funny tweets, and some lighthearted but knowledgable commentary.
Full disclosure: I am a Giants fan, but I try not to see the world through blue-color glasses and will do my best to be fair if not 100% objective.
The spread for the game is 3.5 and the over/under is 54 points, for all of you who are of course legally betting on these games in Las Vegas.
It was a very interesting Week 1 for both the New Orleans Saints and New
1st Quarter:
15:00: Giants win the toss and elect to defer. Saints run back kickoff to the 19 and we are off.
Saints offense begins drive at own 19
14:00: On the first play from scrimmage, Brees connects with Willie Snead for a 13-yard gain and a first down.
12:31: On 3rd and 5, Brees targets Coby Fleener on a slant but Fleener drops it and the Saints are forced to punt. Giants offense to start from their own 25 after touchback.
Giants offense begins drive at own 25
11:15: Giants go 3 and out on their first possession. Victor Cruz gets would-be first down reception wrestled away from him on third down and the Giants are forced to punt.
Saints offense begins drive at own 32
9:30: Saints go 3 and out after great Giants defensive series. Giants safety Landon Collins gets the first sack of the game on 3rd and 9, and the Saints punt.
It was expected to be a high-scoring affair but midway through the first quarter, neither offense has done anything.
Giants offense begins drive at own 18
8:00: On 3rd and 2, Rashad Jennings gets enough to pick up the Giants first first down of the game.
7:00: Odell Beckham catches his first pass of the game to move the ball to the Giants 40 and give New York another first down.
6:26: Saints defensive back PJ Williams is shaken up after a head injury after making a tackle. Looks like a possible concussion, and players from both teams are taking a knee as the doctors tend to Williams and prepare to stretcher him off. Let’s hope he’s OK.
6:00 After a lengthy stoppage, Williams is carted off to supportive cheers from the MetLife Stadium crowd. Rashad Jennings then picks up another first down on 3rd and short.
4:30: On 3rd and 7 Manning takes a shot down the field for Beckham who draws a pass interference. Giants get a 1st and 10 on the 23 yard line.
4:23: A 12-yard gain on a pass and catch to Beckham Jr.
3:00: On 3rd and 2 from the 3 yard-line Larry Donnell drops a touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone.
2:30: Ben McAdoo elects to go for it and Sterling Moore breaks up an intended pass to Beckham in the back of the endzone. A big defensive stand for New Orleans, and they take over on downs.
Saints offense begins drive at own 3
1:28: Another Saints 3-and-out and they’re forced to punt. Giants defense has been impressive thus far.
Giants drive begins at own 33
No score at the end of first quarter
2nd Quarter begins, Score 0-0:
14:00 Around the Saint 40-yard-line Shane Vereen coughs up the football and Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis jumps on the ball like his dad wrestling legend Road Warrior Animal would have jumped on some local wrestlers.
Giants FUMBLE: Saints offense begins drive at own 36
11:42: Another drive for the Saints ends in a 3-and-out after Leon Hall’s sack on third down. Saints forced to punt again.
Giants offense begins drive at own 36
11:00: We get some good news that injured Saint PJ Williams is concious.
9:19: A 43-yard Victor Cruzz catch-and-run ends in disaster as the Saints force a fumble on the former Pro Bowler and recover it to get the ball back in their own territory. The Giants are mostly outplaying the Saints but these offensive miscues are really hurting them.
Giants FUMBLE: Saints offense begins drive on own 16
7:30: Yet another 3-and-out for New Orleans as their offense continues to sputter out. Punter Thomas Morstead is getting a lot of action in this first half as the Giants D continues to dominate.
Gambler who wagered on over 54 points should be worried.
Giants offense begins drive on own 20
4:30: Cameron Jordan gets first Saints first sack of the season.
4:06: On the very next play Michael Mauti sacks Eli Manning and forces a fumble that the Saints recover. Its their defense’s third fumble recovery in the past three possessions, and the first in Giants territory. The play is under review, and Manning might have been down.
Mike Pereira says he thinks the call should be overturned, but then it stands. It was inconclusive either way so the officials stayed with what was called on the field. A great break for the Saints,
Giants FUMBLE: Saints offense begins drive on Giants 25
3:00: After an offensive pass interference, the Saints are unable to get a first down. They send out the field goal unit.
GIANTS TOUCHDOWN: Janoris Jenkins returns blocked field goal attempt for TD. Giants lead 7-0.
2:30: Jonathan Hankins blocks the field goal attempt and Janoris Jenkins runs it to the house to give the Giants a 7-0 lead. Who could have possibly predicted that at the 2-minute warning the only score of the game would be off a blocked field goal?
Saints offense begins drive at own 25
1:24: Back to back pass plays to Michael Thomas of 17 and then 23 yards move the Saints to the Giants 34
0:15: Saints have the ball on the Giants 23 with no timeouts left but then pick up a delay of game to move them back to the 28.
0:11: Saints move the ball to the 21 to set up a 38-yard field goal attempt. This time rookie kicker Will Lutz puts it through to get his team on the board.
SAINTS FIELD GOAL: 38-yard field goal by Will Lutz is good. Giants lead 7-3.
Giants get the ball with a few seconds left and take a knee. 7-3 at halftime. Neither offense played well at all in the first half and one great play by the Giants special teams is enough to put them in the lead. It’ll be interesting to see if Brees and the Saints explosive Saints offense can get a rhtyhym in the second half, and if the Giants can eliminate the mistakes and score some touchdowns.
End of 2nd quarter: Giants lead 7-3
Start of 3rd quarter
Giants offense begins drive at own 25
13:30: On 3rd and long, Sterling Shepard makes a drive-saving first-down. On the next play Odell Beckham makes a catch in the middle of the field for another first down at the Saints 40.
11:11: Giants drive stalls and they bring out Josh Brown to try a 53-yard field goal. He gets the distance but misses a bit to the left so the kick is no good. The Saints will have pretty good field position after the missed long field goal.
Saints offense begins drive at own 43
9:04: After one first down, the Saints offense can’t get another and Thomas Morstead is forced to punt for the 6th time. Saints haven’t been able to establish any ground game which has made it difficult for Drew Brees.
On the punt the Saints down the ball within the 5-yard-line but there was a hold on the play and they’re forced to punt again from 10 yards further back.
Giants offense begins drive at own 16
5:30: On 3rd and 2, Sterling Shepard runs a great route toward the sideline to pick up a big gain and take the ball inside the Saints 20.
4:24: The Giants commit their first two penalties on consecutive plays, with two offensive linemen getting holding penalties to set up a 1st and 30 back at the Saints 40.
2:51: After the penalties killed the Giants momentum, Josh Brown nails a 48-yard field goal attempt through the uprights.
GIANTS FIELD GOAL: 48-yard field goal by Josh Brown is good. Giants lead 10-3.
Saints offense begins drive at own 26
0:20: A Brandin Cooks crossing route and then a Mark Ingram catch-and-run get the ball to the Giants 28 at the end of the third quarter
4th Quarter begins: Giants lead 10-3
SAINTS TOUCHDOWN: Willie Snead 17-yard touchdown catch from Drew Brees. Game tied 10-10.
13:30: Brees throws a strike to the back of the middle of the endzone that Snead hauls in. And just like that this one is knotted up at 10. The Giants have been mostly conservative in their play calling, so it’ll be interesting to see if that changes now.
Giants offense begins drive at own 25
13:00: The secondary injuries for the Saints continue to pile up as now safety Kenny Vaccarro is injured on the sideline. Giants have been able to move the ball down the field so far but the Saints D has stepped up to make big plays when needed.
11:00 Sterling Shepard makes a 23-yard catch-and-run, the rookie’s seventh reception of the game. The Giants are marching toward the endzone.
9:00: After two runs from the 1-yard-line the Saints D has stood stout setting up 3rd and goal
8:49: Another goal line stand by the Saints defense after a tipped Eli Manning pass on third down brings out both a chorus of boos and kicker Josh Brown. Brown nails a chip shot to regain the lead for the Giants.
GIANTS FIELD GOAL: 18-yard field goal by Josh Brown is good. Giants lead 13-10.
Saints offense begins drive at own 25
3:00: After a 7-play, 47-yard drive the Saints will try a 45-yard field goal to tie the game. Will Lutz’s kick doesn’t have a lot of elevation, but it’s good nonetheless.
SAINTS FIELD GOAL: 45-yard-field goal by Will Lutz is good. Game tied 13-13.
Giants begin drive at own 25
2:22: On their second play of the drive, Odell Beckham Jr. is able to draw a pass interference to move the ball to midfield.
The Giants never make it easy for their fans.
2:00: On the last play before the two-minute-warning Manning found Sterling Shepard for the rookie’s eighth catch. The Oklahoma product looks like a real weapon for the Giants offense. Big Blue has the ball on the Saints 38.
1:49: Odell Beckham gets the step but drops the ball on what would have been a long touchdown pass.
1:32: On the very next play, Eli airs it out for Victor Cruz who wrestles the ball away from Ken Crawley to set up 1st and goal from the 2.
1:00: The Saints have no timeouts left so the Giants are intentionally running down the clock to set up a short game-winning field goal attempt for Josh Brown.
0:02: Josh Brown comes in to try to win it from 23 yards. The kick is good, and the Giants are the winners.
GIANTS FIELD GOAL: 23-yard field goal by Josh Brown is good. Giants win 16-13.
Not the game we expected, but a big win for the Giants to move to 2-0. They’ll face Josh Norman and the Redskins next weekend.
A disappointing loss for the Saints, who next have a date with the Falcons.
