Giants Country

NY Giants at New Orleans Saints — Scoring Updates, Highlight Reels & Reactions

The Giants are looking for their first back-to-back wins since the 2023 season at a venue that over recent years hasn't been too kind to them.
Patricia Traina|
Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) recovers a fumble in front of New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) during the third quarter at Caesars Superdome.
Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) recovers a fumble in front of New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) during the third quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

In this story:

New York Giants

Jump to a Section

  1. Fourth Quarter
  2. Third Quarter
  3. Haltime
  4. Second Quarter
  5. First Quarter
  6. Pregame Notes & Thoughts
  7. More New York Giants Coverage

New Orleans, La -- There’s nothing more dangerous than a desperate team, particularly when that team is in search of its first win of the new season.

That’s what the Los Angeles Chargers, a team projected to roll over the then-winless New York Giants, found out last week. 

The Chargers, undefeated, put up a good fight, but in the end, the Giants prevailed by a score of 21-18 in what was their most complete game played since last year’s Week 17 trouncing of the Indianapolis Colts.

That brings us to the next opponent on the Giants' schedule, the winless New Orleans Saints, a team that, dating back to last season, has lost eight games in a row and has been counting on the new coaching regime led by former Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to get the team back on the right track.

That hasn’t happened so far. After losing their first two losses by one score or less, the Saints have been blown out in their last two games, losing by a combined score of 75-32 to Seattle and Buffalo.

The one thing the Saints do seem to have going for them is their home turf, which hasn’t exactly been a fun place for the Giants to play in recent years due to the noise factor.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who this past week ensured the speakers were turned up to maximum volume with crowd noise to simulate the Caesars Superdome crowd, agreed. “It is a tough place to play; tough environment to play in,” he said. 

The Giants are 1-4 in their last five games at the Superdome, and who could forget that crazy game in 2015 when quarterback Eli Manning of the Giants and Drew Brees of the Saints engaged in a shootout that resulted in a 52-49 Saints win?

That all said, the Giants have a golden opportunity to make a season out of what’s otherwise been mostly a disappointing start. 

A win would put them at 2-3 with a big Thursday night game against a “struggling” Philadelphia Eagles team that, although 4-0 entering Week 5, has registered slim margins of victory over their opponents with no such victory topping seven points.

But first things first: the Giants must top the Saints. So be sure to stay here all game long as we bring you scoring highlights, observations, injury updates, notes, and more as the Giants try to record their first back-to-back wins since the 2023 season.

Fourth Quarter

New York Giants
Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Quincy Riley (29), New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (4), New Orleans Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor (1) and New Orleans Saints safety Jordan Howden (31) celebrate after an interception against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

And that will do it. The New York Giants beat the New York Giants, 26-14. (No, that's not a typo.) See you Thursday night for another live blog.

:49: Jermaine Eluemunor draws his third penalty of the afternoon.

1:56: Dart gets sacked by Carl Granderson, who draws a roughing the passer penalty. I'm not so sure that was a roughing call, but it went in the Giants' favor.

The Giants have turned the ball over on their last five possessions. They won't win games that way.  

2:00: Blake Grupe misses a 46-yard field goal wide right.

TWO MINUTE WARNING

This has been a disappointing game. The turnovers have killed the Giants, but also consider the dropped passes earlier in the game. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this team is not good enough to overcome its own mistakes.

⏹Giants are out of timeouts sve for the 2:00 warning.

5:11: And another interception thrown by Dart, thiough that one is on Beau Collins who stopped his route. Kool-Aid McKinstry comes up with his secnd pick of the day.

5:53: On fourth down, Dart picks up six and the first down. Time is running out for the Giants.

 ⏹GIANTS INJURY UPDATE: WR Darius Slayton (hamstring) is questionable to return. 

10:06: There's another turnover. Dart's pass on 4th-and-6 intended for Jalin Hyatt is picked off by Kool-Air McKinstry. I guess that's like a punt, no?

11:03: Jermaine Eluemunor gets called for holding as Dart takes a shot from Cameron Jordan and gets up slowly.

11:30: Another penalty, this one a holding call on Beau Collins. 

12:09: Theo Johnson gets called for a false start.

14:47: Deonte Banks with a nice 46-yard kickoff return. Let's see if the Giants can get into the end zone.

15:00: This is unbelievable. Skattebo loses the handle on the ball after Bryan Bresee punches it out, and Jordan Howden returns it 86 yards for the score. That's the third Giant's turnover of the game. The Saints have 13 points off the Giants' turnovers.  NO 26, NYG 14

Third Quarter

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara
Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs the ball against the New York Giants during the second quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

END OF QUARTER

⏹GIANTS STAT NOTE: The Saints have six points off two Giants turnovers, which right now is the difference in the game.

6:55: Grupe hits his third field goal of the day, this one from 28 yards. NO 19, NY 14

 ⏹GIANTS INJURY UPDATE: Giants special teams LB Swayze Bozeman (ankle) has been downgraded to OUT.

10:52: That was interesting. Spencer Rattler's pass was batted back to him by Brian Burns, and he attempted to throw it again. It's an illegal forward pass, but not something you see very often.

11:01: These dang turnovers are going to be the reason why the Giants lose this game. Dart had the ball in one hand, and it fell out of his hand. Saints Cam Jordan recovered.

12:44: Giants go for it on 4th-and-1. Wan'Dale Robinson picks up two yards for the first down.

Haltime

 ⏹STATS UPDATE

Jaxson Dart is the Giants' leading rusher with 356 yards on four carries. Dart is also 11 of 16 (68.8%) for 110 yards and two touchdowns for a 127.6 rating. 

Tight end Daniel Bellinger is the leading receiver with three receptions on three targets for 48 yards.

Giants are one of three on third downs. 

They have 187 net yards of offense and have run just 29 plays to the Saints' 40 on offense. But the Giants are averaging 6.4 yards per play on offense, to the Saints' 5.9 yards per play.

Second Quarter

New Orleans Saints linebacker Pete Werner (20) tackles New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart
Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints linebacker Pete Werner (20) tackles New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) during the second quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

END OF HALF

:03: Saints cash in on the Slayton turnover to take the lead. Blake Grupe connects from 29 yards out. Per the broadcast, this is the first time since Week 1 in the first half the Saints have the lead in a game (250:05) NO 16, NYG 14.

1:13: Ouch, huge turnover by the normally reliable Darius Slayton, who is stripped of the ball. Saints are now in field goal territory.

1:22: Dart hits Cam Skattebo for 14 yards.

1:30: Blake Grupe's 52-yard field goal attempt is wide left.

1:40: Nice play by rookie Darius Alexander to stuff Spencer Rattler for a 3-yard loss

1:55: Another penalty on the Giants defensive secondary. Paulson Adebo draws a DPI.

2:00: Ugh, Dru Phillips draws a DPI. That's 19 more yards added to his league-leading 94, which means Phillips now has 113 penalty yards.

TWO MINUTE WARNING

 ⏹INJURY UPDATE: Giants LB Swayze Bozeman is questionable to return with an ankle injury.

2:42: It looked like the Saints got a piece of Jamie Gillan's punt.

2:49: Good call for the flea flicker, but Jaxson Dart doesn't pout enough on the ball to Darius Slayton, and it goes incomplete.  

5:27: And just like that, the Saints are back in the game as Spencer Rattler connects with Rashid Shaheed, who catches an 87-yard strike for a touchdown, Shaheed beating Giants safety Tyler Nubin. That's the longest Saints play in nine seasons. NYG 14, NO 13.

5:33: Two drops on this drive, one by Devin Singletary and one by Darius Slayton, so Jamie Gillan comes in to punt.  

7:46: Blake Grupe adds his second field goal of the day, this one a 53-yarder. NYG 14, NO 6

⏹Broadcast Note: This is the first time the Giants scored back-to-back TDs in a game in five seasons.

13:06: And another Giants touchdown by a tight end. Theo Johnson gets his second one. Johnson has now doubled his career touchdown count to four. NYG 14, NO 3

⏹INJURY UPDATE: Saints safety Justin Reid is out for the rest of the game with a concussion.

First Quarter

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger (82) runs with the ball against the New Orleans Saints during the first quarter,
Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger (82) runs with the ball against the New Orleans Saints during the first quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

END OF QUARTER

:33: Great decision there by Jaxson Darts to take off for 20 yards when everyone was covered. Dart saw an open lane and turned nothing into something.

1:43: Saints get on the board on a 28-yard field goal by Blake Grupe to cap the 13-play drive. NYG 7, NO 3

2:28: Drop by Alvin Kamara. Third and long.

3:04: Kayvon Thibodeaux drops Taysom Hill for a four-yard loss.

7:55: Deonte Banks takes and Deonte Banks takes away.) Banks pulls down Chris Olave, and Jevon Holland's INT is wiped off the board by the 25-yard penalty.

I like that the Giants have Jamie Gillan kicking off in this game. Pristine environment for kicking, and Gillan has a slightly stronger leg on kickoffs than McAtamney.

9:38: Boom! Jaxson Dart to a wide-open Theo Johnson. Finally, the Giants are using the tight ends in the red zone. Two weeks in a row Giants score a touchdown on their opening drive. NYG 7, NO 0

Giants are getting the tight ends involved early in this game. I like it; I've been calling for this for weeks.

12:32: Horray! Jaxson Dart takes off on a scramble and slides.

13:11: Giants dodge one there as it looked like the ball was coming out on that pass to Bellinger. Upon further review, it looked like the ground caused the loose ball, and that's how it was ruled.

Good start for the Giants. Defense holds Saints to three-and-out and get the ball back in good shape.

Saints win the toss and will receive. Jamie Gillan to kick off.

Pregame Notes & Thoughts

⏹Giants Inactives 

RB Tyrone Tracy, Jr., LB Demtrius Flannigan-Fowles, OL Evan Neal, DL Elijah Garcia, QB Jameis Winston (3rd quarterback)

⏹Saints Inactives 

CB Isaac Yiadom, RB Devin Neal, T Xavier Truss, DT Khristian Boyd, C/G Cesar Ruiz, DE Chase Young

⏹More Spreads Coming? 

An interesting stat from NFL+ says that the Giants have used spread formations on a league-high 39.7% of their offensive plays this season but have decreased their spread formation usage in recent weeks, dropping from 43.3% in Weeks 1-2 to 36.2% during Weeks 3-4.

In terms of their matchup with the Saints, New Orleans’s defense has allowed only 4.4 yards per attempt (3rd-fewest) and 5.8 yards per carry against spread formations this season, with the latter figure nearly a yard above league average.

 ⏹About this Week’s Roster Moves

How bad is the Giants' salary cap situation? Entering Sunday’s Week 5 game, the Giants had the lowest cap space ($1.683 million) in the league, money spent on 78 contracts. 

This is likely why general manager Joe Schoen is milking every last drop out of standard practice squad elevations for guys like linebacker Neville Hewitt (three elevations) and kicker Jude McAtamney (two elevations).

Eventually, Hewitt will have to be signed to the 53-man roster if they’re going to need him full-time. But one can’t help but wonder if the reason why Schoen didn’t elevate receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey and instead sign one of the two guys he did elevate to the 53-man roster has to do with cap gymnastics.

Either way, eventually the Giants will need to open up some cap space. It’s just a question of where they get it from.

And who knows? Perhaps the need for cap space could lead them to be more willing to trade away quarterback Russell Wilson to a team in need of a quarterback.

⏹Malik Nabers Update

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Giants receiver Malik Nabers’s surgery to repair his torn ACL will take place in the coming week. 

Schefter also reported that the receiver tore his meniscus, though Schefter didn’t say if it was a full or partial tear.  

For those wondering, Nabers, per Schefter, is not undergoing surgery for the partially torn labrum he is believed to have suffered during training camp or the turf toe that kept him out of workouts throughout the spring.

With Nabers undergoing surgery this early, that should put him on track to be ready for next season. (Spoiler alert: on Tuesday’s Locked On Giants podcast episode, we’ll hear from an orthopedic surgeon who has NOT treated Nabers, on what the receiver could be in store for as far as his rehab goes.

⏹Stats & Stuff

In Week 4, quarterback Jaxson Dart became the first quarterback since Marc Bulger (2002) to win his first career start against a team that was 3-0 or better. 

He also joined Tim Tebow (2010) as one of two quarterbacks since 2000 to record a pass touchdown, rush touchdown, and 50+ rushing yards in their first start.

Running back Cam Skattebo has accounted for the fourth-most rushing yards (181) and 5th-most scrimmage yards (279) among rookies this season. He has scored 14 points (2 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion), which ranks 4th among all rookies.

Among rookies, outside linebacker Abdul Carter ranks first in quarterback pressures (19) and QB hits (8). 

Carter registered five quarterback hits in Week 4, tying outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (five quarterback hits at Dallas, 11/24/22) for the most in a game by a Giants rookie since 2006.

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II recorded his first career interception in Week 4 and first by a Giants defensive lineman since defensive end Niko Lalos (vs. Cincinnati, 11/29/20).

Lawrence’s 37-yard return was the longest by a Giants defensive lineman since defensive end Justin Tuck (41 yards at STL, 9/14/08).

Tackle Andrew Thomas is the only tackle in the NFL (min. 20% of pass blocking snaps played) to not allow a sack, quarterback hit, hurry, or pressure this season, ranking just below Denver’s Garrett Bolles, per Pro Football Focus.

Entering Week 5, Thomas’ 88.4 grade on pass-blocking snaps ranked second in the NFL.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.

More New York Giants Coverage

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

Share on XFollow Patricia_Traina
Home/Game Day