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Led by the best performance of the season from Derek Carr and six sacks from the defense, the New Orleans Saints got back to .500 and easily defeated Tommy DeVito and the New York Giants 24-6 inside the Caesars Superdome.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The New Orleans defense came out strong, forcing a three-and-out. However, a running into the kicker call gave the Giants a fresh set of downs. The Saints’ defense would once again stand up, but New York was in field goal range. Randy Bullock knocked through a 56-yard field goal to make it 3-0 Giants five minutes into the contest.
The Saints had one strong offensive drive in the first half, going 11 plays and 68 yards before Derek Carr found Keith Kirkwood for a seven-yard touchdown, his first since the 2018 playoffs, to make it 7-3 after one complete quarter.
The New Orleans defense had a very strong first half as well, holding the Giants to a pair of field goals and sacking Tommy DeVito four times. Punter Jamie Gillin connected on a 40-yard field goal after Bullock hurt his hamstring on the first field goal. At the half, the Saints held a 7-6 lead over the Giants.
The Saints opened the second half with a 6:21 second drive that went 68 yards in 10 plays, ending in a 23-yard touchdown from Carr to Juwan Johnson to make it a 14-6 game early in the second half.
After another strong drive from the defense, the Saints offense got the ball once again and put more points on the board. The five-play, 25-yard drive ended in a 50-yard field goal from rookie Blake Grupe to make it 17-6 New Orleans with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter.
In one of the better offensive performances of the entire season for the Saints, Alvin Kamara reached 1,000 scrimmage yards for the season. He is just the 16th NFL player to do so in each of his first seven seasons in the league.
On the next offensive possession, it appeared penalties would stall the momentum for the Saints, but Carr threw a dart to AT Perry at the first down marker to move the chains and keep the drive alive. After a pass interference call in the endzone placed the ball at the one, Carr found Jimmy Graham in the back of the endzone for a touchdown, his third passing touchdown of the game. After the successful PAT, New Orleans led 24-6.
The Giants moved into Saints territory, converting on a 4th and 2 play to extend the drive. However, the Saints forced a turnover on downs to take over at their own 45 with 6:48 remaining in the game.
After another defensive stop by the Saints, New Orleans would just kneel the clock out on their way to a 24-6 win and a 7-7 record in 2023.
BIG NUMBER: 7
The New Orleans defense was able to register seven sacks in the victory on Sunday, including two from Bresee and 2.5 from Kpassagnon.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Derek Carr
Carr played his best game as a member of the Saints today, completing 23-28 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with a passer rating of 137.3.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Saints D-Line/Edge Rushers
The combo of DeMario Davis, Zach Baun, Bryan Bresee, and Tanoh Kpassagnon sacked Tommy DeVito seven times on Sunday afternoon to help the Saints back to .500.
UP NEXT: Short rest for the Black and Gold as they travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Thursday Night Football. Kickoff is set for 7:15 from SoFi Stadium.