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Keep Informed: Saints vs. Giants Live Updates, In-Game Analysis and Notes for Week 14

The Saints are down to just a handful of games for their season, and we'll see what they do against the Giants on Sunday.

John Hendrix

Dec 1, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (10) reacts with New Orleans Saints wide receiver Dante Pettis (17) after a touchdown against Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darious Williams (24) during the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Dec 1, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (10) reacts with New Orleans Saints wide receiver Dante Pettis (17) after a touchdown against Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darious Williams (24) during the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
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EAST RUTHERFORD -- The Saints look to move to 5-8 on the year, but will have to knock off the lowly Giants first. It's one of seven early kickoffs in Week 14, and all eyes are on how New Orleans responds following the first loss under interim head coach Darren Rizzi's tenure. You can keep up with all of the in-game analysis, notes, big plays, scoring and much more with our weekly game thread.

Saints Game Day: How to Watch, Follow The Giants Game and What You Need to Know

Pregame Notes

  • Looking forward to a one-two Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller punch with the offensive line in play. They haven't been together since Week 3 of the season when New Orleans lost Erik McCoy on the third offensive snap of that game.
  • Alvin Kamara need just 106 rushing yards today to get the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career. It's almost crazy to think that it's never happened and that he's doing it just before his age-30 season.
  • New Orleans is widely expected to win this game, and while there is no quit in them, their draft position is obviously something to pay attention to as we get down the stretch. They probably have at least two more losses in this final stretch with Washington and Green Bay being the frontrunners there.
  • This game has a 2-10 team vs. a 4-8 team vibe to it for sure. Crowd is very low, but Saints fans traveled well.
  • Giants win the toss and will defer. Saints offense up first. Curious to see how that works with no Taysom Hill, and we'll get to see it.
  • Kendre Miller and Jamaal Williams are both back deep for the Saints. They're not wasting much time getting Miller back in the mix.

First Quarter - Saints 7, Giants 0

Scoring

  • Saints, 1:19 (9-98, 5:11) - Kendre Miller 8-yard run.

Notes

  • Already a bad start or the Saints with the opening kickoff, field position and first play of the game.
  • Uninspiring drive to start the game for the New Orleans offense. Just a 35-yard punt by Matt Hayball too and the Giants start in Saints territory.
  • Drew Lock picks up a first down on 3rd and 15 with his legs. That's disappointing for sure.
  • Nice pressure by Chase Young on the 3rd-and-8 play. Giants offense stayed on for 4th-and-8 and Will Harris drew a holding penalty. Drew Lock also got an intentional grounding call.
  • You see the creativity the Saints can have with Kendre Miller and Alvin Kamara on the field at the same time.
  • Kamara started out with negative yards on his first two carries but was then able to rattle off a 9-yard run on 3rd-and-5. If he gets to the century mark today, then he's going to have to earn every yard. The Giants don't have Dexter Lawrence either.
  • 1st-and-10 to 3rd-and-15 after two negative yardage plays. Yikes. Blake Grupe misses the 53-yard kick (wide left), as it looked online at first and then hooked.
  • Pete Werner came free on the 3rd-and-2 play to force Lock into an early throw. Saints will have to start deep in their own territory for the next series.
  • That's a nice hookup to Marquez Valdes-Scantling on 3rd Down to pick up 22. Saints get some major breathing room.
  • Derek Carr follows that play up by hitting Juwan Johnson on a deep throw for 30 yards.
  • That's a really good 8-yard run by Kendre Miller. Showed off the balance and then some on the outside.
  • Hey! Dallin Holker gets involved finally and picks up his first NFL catch. It goes or 10.
  • Kamara followed that up with a 12-yard run that was pretty.
  • That's a bulldozer touchdown for Kendre Miller from 8 yards out. He kept churning and the offensive line help from Erik McCoy, Lucas Patrick and Taliese Fuaga helped him push his way in.
  • Very underrated play by Bryan Bresee getting that tip at the line of scrimmage. He was engaged in a block and kept his eyes on Lock and timed it perfectly.
  • Rico Payton went into the injury tent following the punt play.

Big Plays

Second Quarter - Saints 7, Giants 3

Scoring

  • Giants, 11:20 (7-26, 2:42) - Graham Gano 43-yard field goal.

Notes

  • Willie Gay Jr. played gunner opposite of J.T. Gray with no Rico Payton being on the field. He actually got a good jump on the snap and almost made the play. I didn't really care for that Jamaal Williams personal foul penalty.
  • Payton is out of the Saints injury tent and is back on the sideline.
  • That's some hookup to Malik Nabers threading it in there with all sorts of pressure coming.
  • Pressure finally gets home to Lock, as Bryan Bresee picks up a sack on 3rd-and-9.
  • Too many negative plays for my liking in this game.
  • The trickery on 4th-and-3 didn't work with Jamaal Williams going on the right side. He was marked short and the Giants take over.
  • Nice pass breakup by Kool-Aid McKinstry working against Malik Nabers on 3rd-and-4.
  • D'Marco Jackson went into the injury tent following the punt play.
  • Nice protection on the 3rd-and-5 play, as Carr just misses Kevin Austin Jr.
  • Matt Hayball just got an earful from Darren Rizzi following that punt return for a touchdown. It was wiped out due to a holding call, however. Alvin Kamara was trying to help Rizzi calm down too.
  • Drew Lock had a first down up the middle but opted to go outside and didn't even get close. That's puzzling. Great play by Will Harris though.
  • D'Marco Jackson (ankle) is questionable to return for the Saints.
  • First Carr sack we see in a while and it's via Brian Burns. Foster Moreau and Dallin Holker looked like they had some wires crossed on the play.
  • Really bad penalty to take if you're the Giants late in the half. Gives the Saints a chance at a field goal before the half with the pass interference call on Tyler Nubin.
  • Well, that was uneventful. Grupe's kick gets blocked from 60 yards and New Orleans misses another field goal.

Big Plays

Third Quarter - Saints 14, Giants 3

Scoring

  • Saints, 3:40 (9-69, 4:41) - Juwan Johnson 11-yard pass from Derek Carr.

Notes

  • Really interested to see how New Orleans is in this quarter. They've traditionally had major fallout coming out of halftime.
  • Nice hookup to Juwan Johnson on the sideline. Almost ended in disaster with the ball coming out at the end, however it was recovered by New Orleans and the Giants were offside anyway.
  • Carr tries a deep ball to Austin Jr. and it's picked by Tre Hawkins III. Looked underthrown. He had him in stride.
  • Lock tried Kool-Aid McKinstry deep again and he handled himself well. Payton Turner was called for being offside on the play, however.
  • Chase Young almost had a pick after dropping in coverage. Demario Davis was coming and got credited with the QB hit.
  • D'Marco Jackson is out for the rest of the game with his ankle injury.
  • Pretty connection as Carr connects to Cedrick Wilson Jr. and keeps the drive going.
  • That's a beautiful cut by Kendre Miller to pick up 9. He really needs to get some more looks in this game.
  • Giants have the 29th-ranked run defense, no Dexter Lawrence and the Saints keep getting negative rushing plays.
  • What a one-handed catch by Foster Moreau. Picks up 32 yards.
  • Just one play later and the Saints get into the end zone with Carr hitting a wide open Juwan Johns for an 11-yard score. Couldn't let this team linger.
  • Another week and another time we need to mention Rico Payton for a great special teams rep.

Big Plays

Fourth Quarter - Saints 14, Giants 11

Scoring

  • Giants, 4:11 (13-80, 6:03) - Tyrone Tracy Jr. 1-yard run. 2-point attempt is good from Lock to Malik Nabers.

Notes

  • Seeing Carl Granderson drop in coverage is crazy, but it worked.
  • Weird sequence for the Giants, as they got a Graham Gano 48-yard field goal wiped out by a personal foul penalty during the play. They ended up having to punt instead. 2-8 teams doing 2-8 things.
  • Some good runs by Kendre Miller today.
  • Miscuses on offense keep shooting the Saints in the foot. They went from 3rd-and-13 to 3rd-and-18 with a delay of game penalty.
  • Tommy DeVito came in the game for one play and handed the ball off. He got a good reception from the Giants fan and they weren't too happy with Lock went back in.
  • Khalen Saunders picks up a sack on Lock and drops him for a loss of 8. That probably hurt.
  • Giants offense stays on for 4th and 10 and converts it. Feels like the first time I see Alontae Taylor today.
  • Lock follows that up with a big connection to Malik Nabers to get them inside the 5-yard lne. Tyrann Mathieu wasn't too happy about something.
  • Giants get a bounce and convert the 2-point attempt. Saints have to close this one out.
  • What? Derek Carr with a crazy run there and now it looks like he's hurt. Why didn't he just go out of bounds?
  • Well, Carr is dealing with something left arm/hand related, and maybe it's his wrist. He was in the injury tent and had a convoy of people with him as he exited the field. Crazy sequence.
  • Demario Davis got those hands off Amazon he ordered apparently.
  • Officially, Derek Carr left with a right hand injury and concussion evaluation.
  • Alontae Taylor might have ripped that out at the end to prevent the completion.
  • Great defensive pass breakup by Ugo Amadi to force a 4th-and-10.
  • Breakdown on the Drew Lock run to pick up 25. They can't just close it out?
  • Bryan Bresee saves the day with a block. What a day.

Big Plays

Published |Modified
John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net

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