Winners and Losers From Giants’ Wild 34-27 Loss to the Saints

The New York Giants’ hype train finally went off the tracks on Sunday, as they lost a winnable game to the New Orleans Saints, 34-27.

Although they fought back to close the scoring gap, it wasn’t enough. In retrospect, there may have been signs of trouble even before this game, in their narrow wins over the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals, and the same problems resurfaced in a tie with the Washington Commanders.

That said, Big Blue remains in first place and did not lose ground in the division thanks to losses by the Cowboys and Eagles. The Giants might have even found fresh legs at quarterback, but a painful afternoon of football shows the John Harbaugh effect isn’t always a given.

It’s time to sift through the good and the bad as we assign our winners and losers in this ugly NFC battle.

Winners

Malik Nabers, WR

Aside from a puzzling decision not to make a play on the ball during a Jameis Winston interception, Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers was once again excellent. He matched a career high with 12 receptions and totaled a walloping 165 yards, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for a third straight game.

He helped New York mount a miraculous comeback and showed his pre-injury elusiveness. Nabers broke three tackles at one point, displaying strength beyond what his 6-foot frame suggests. The 23-year-old is not just back. He is one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers.

Isaiah Likely, TE

The other half of this superb offensive duo is also one of the best players at his position through six weeks. Isaiah Likely has notched at least six catches, 90-plus yards, and one touchdown in consecutive games.

He has been clutch as a pass-catcher, using his reliable hands to extend drives. Even with ongoing questions at quarterback, the Giants’ aerial attack should remain competent as long as Likely provides notable production as a receiving option.

DJ Reader, DT

Big Blue was a big mess on run defense, surrendering 175 rushing yards and 4.6 yards per carry. DJ Reader offered some nice moments amid the onslaught.

The 32-year-old defensive tackle recorded seven stops, per Pro Football Focus, highlighted by a terrific tackle on Alvin Kamara near the goal line. He also temporarily kept six points off the board, an impressive achievement that will get lost in the shuffle following all the disarray.

Reader is shaping up as a gem of a free-agent signing, but he is not enough to fix the squad’s perennial problems against the run.

Jevon Holland, S

Oct 18, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs the ball against New York Giants safety Jevon Holland (8) during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A case could be made here for Jason Pinnock, as his forced fumble was a catalyst for the nearly successful comeback effort. Instead, fellow safety Jevon Holland gets the nod after looking active again following a relatively quiet Week 5.

Holland denied end-zone access to Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, played tight coverage on tight end Juwan Johnson, and allowed just two receptions for 13 yards. While both Holland and Pinnock were discombobulated on a 31-yard Kamara TD early in the third quarter, they both produced their share of positive plays.

Holland was a particularly formidable presence in a secondary that has been better than expected.

J.J. McCarthy, QB

New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy (18) and New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) during a week 6 NFL football game between New York Giants and New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Jameis Winston’s lack of mobility in the RPO game might very well spell the end of his tenure as the Giants’ starting quarterback, especially as the rushing game continues to struggle.

Enter J.J. McCarthy, who brings that dimension to the game. Despite throwing one interception and nearly tossing another, the young signal-caller put up a staggering offensive output in the fourth quarter. He completed 11-of-21 passes for 243 yards and one TD, while adding 26 yards on the ground.

Simply put, McCarthy helped bring an ailing squad back to life. We can focus on the poor throws or the brutal sack he took, but the former No. 10 overall pick was gutsy and mobile, looked like a better version of himself, and likely earned a start moving forward.

Losers

Jameis Winston, QB

Did Jameis Winston take his final snap as QB1 for the Giants this season? Harbaugh refused to answer that question after the game, but it is hard to imagine the veteran gunslinger getting the nod against the Houston Texans next Sunday.

Winston threw for 152 yards, tossed two picks, and absorbed four sacks on the day. Although the offensive line made him work at times, he still exercised poor judgment far too often. He gets a little leeway on his first interception considering Nabers should have done more to help prevent it, but Winston’s second one was awful.

Winston still has plenty to offer the locker room, to be clear. He is an outstanding vocal leader who can keep teammates energized and focused. He can also make an impact when called upon.

That said, Winston may not be the right man to lead this offense going forward, especially against better pass-rushing teams, where he tends to get more skittish than one might like to see.

John Harbaugh, HC

We had no problem with how Harbaugh handled the Cam Skattebo situation by reducing the running back’s snaps to just six for the day and, whether by design or not, not putting the ball in his hands. Harbaugh runs a meritocracy, and if you don’t do your job, you don’t get game snaps, end of story.

This is a similar approach he took with center John Michael Schmitz and safety Tyler Nubin, to name a few. So expecting an exception for Skattebo, who has a fumbling issue that needs to be fixed, isn’t fair.

Oct 18, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh talks on his headset against the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That said, a few developments from this game didn’t sit well with us. For one, the Giants’ special teams unit again had only 10 players on the field, the second time this season. That’s simply inexcusable.

The second thing we didn’t like is this running back rotation. We get that Harbaugh is looking for a guy to step up and take the bull by the horns, but how exactly is a running back supposed to step up if he isn’t allowed to get into a rhythm?

For that to happen, there needs to be a degree of taking the good runs with the bad, and right now Harbaugh’s criteria for that seem muddied, at least outside the building.

There was also the decision to have kicker Dominic Zvada launch the ball into the back of the end zone before the two-minute warning when it might have been smarter just to let him boot the ball out of bounds.

No time would have come off the clock in that situation, and field position may not have mattered since New York had to force a three-and-out regardless.

As the team’s head coach, all of these issues fall under his umbrella.

Charlie Jones, Returner

Oct 18, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Charlie Jones (89) reflects before the game against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jones left an imprint as a wide receiver, making a circus-like catch with less than six minutes remaining. Still, he squandered his team’s momentum on special teams when he fumbled a return late in the first half, giving a scuffling Saints offense a prime opportunity to tie the score at 10, erasing the Giants’ lead, which they never regained.

The Offensive Line

It’s too easy to point fingers at the Giants running backs for the team’s lethargic run game, but the offensive line has to take its share of the blame, too.

We’re talking about a unit that faced the league’s 30th-ranked run defense entering the game, yet the Giants’ offensive front struggled to open holes for its backs.

Big Blue had 20 rushing attempts in this game, and three runs were tackles for loss. The Giants finished with just 84 yards on the ground, and the numbers look worse once you subtract the yardage gained by quarterback J.J. McCarthy and wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who had the only runs of 10-plus yards on the day.

The running backs had a dismal showing and got very little help from their blockers up front.

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