Giants get humbled and blown out by Saints, 24-6, in New Orleans beatdown on both sides of ball

Saints pass rusher Bryan Breese sacked Tommy DeVito, jumped up and pinched his fingers together to mock the Italian’s signature celebration.

The Giants’ underdog ride crashed hard in a 24-6 loss on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

“Collectively just not good enough,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “Pretty much take any area: it wasn’t good enough.”

DeVito was sacked a whopping seven times. Daboll’s offense couldn’t block the Saints’ defensive line or move the ball and didn’t score a single touchdown.

The well of recent takeaways by Wink Martindale’s defense dried up: they had zero on Sunday after forcing 12 during the Giants’ three-game winning streak.

And without the defense carrying the team, the Giants (5-9) predictably couldn’t compete with Dennis Allen’s Saints (8-6).

“Defensively, we’ve been talking all week about embracing the challenge, and really if we want to put our team in position to win, it’s gotta be on us – executing, creating turnovers and getting that momentum swing,” captain Bobby Okereke said. “We’ve gotta do better from that standpoint.”

It will be interesting to see how Daboll, Martindale, Mike Kafka and the coaching staff continue to manage their internal dynamic the last three weeks as the Giants play out the string heading toward an offseason of promised upheaval.

They’ll visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Christmas Day. Then they’ll host the Los Angeles Rams and Eagles in Weeks 17 and 18, respectively, to close out this disappointing year.

The offense’s measly 193 total yards and 3.2 yards per play average were inflated by a meaningless, 73-yard drive late in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

DeVito finished with 177 passing yards and 36 rushing yards. The Saints’ defense generated 26 individual player pressures on the quarterback, according to NFL NextGen Stats.

The undrafted rookie QB left the game late in the second quarter to be evaluated for a concussion, returned for the second half, and played through a late left ankle injury when right guard Ben Bredeson inadvertently stepped on him while blocking.

“We just lacked execution on offense,” DeVito said. “We have to be better. I don’t think we played with enough swagger. And I put that on me because I take that personally, as far as playing with energy and playing with juice.”

Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, a New Jersey native, joined Breese and the rest of the Saints in trolling DeVito and the Giants all afternoon.

Rizzi wore a Bergen Catholic Football T-shirt before the game, representing his alma mater and the rival of DeVito’s Don Bosco Prep. And when the game was in-hand, Rizzi pinched his fingers together and blew kisses into the air.

“You see it in all sports, when someone does something and something else happens, they’re gonna retaliate,” DeVito said. “But it’s all fun and games, it’s part of the game.”

Daboll still said DeVito will remain the Giants’ starting quarterback on Christmas in Philly.

Saquon Barkley gained 14 rushing yards on nine carries and was allowed to sit out the final drive of the game to let rookie draft pick Eric Gray get some playing time. Gray then dropped a fourth-down pass at the first-down sticks to turn it over to the Saints for good.

That was one of three or four drops on the day by Giants receivers. Jalin Hyatt and Darius Slayton each had one, too. DeVito also missed a couple receivers and had an intentional grounding.

On the flip side, Saints quarterback Derek Carr completed 23-of-28 passes for 218 yards and three touchdown passes. The defense generated minimal pressure, especially when rushing four.

Carr completed 12-of-15 passes for 114 yards and two TD passes when the Giants rushed four players. Then again, he was 9-of-11 for 126 yards against five rushers.

Only two Giants defenders had a quarterback hit in the game: safety Jason Pinnock and Okereke. No defensive linemen touched Carr.

“We didn’t do a lot to get him off his rhythm,” Okereke said. “They just played a more complete game than we did.”

The Saints outgained the Giants a stunning 140 yards to two in the third quarter and outscored them 10-0 in that frame to run them out of the building.

The Giants only trailed by one point at halftime, 7-6, despite managing 99 yards of offense and 2.8 yards per play through the first two quarters. DeVito was sacked four times in the first half, and the Giants needed Saints penalties to extend both of their field goal drives.

The Saints’ J.T. Gray roughed Giants punter Jamie Gillan in the first quarter, leading to a 56-yard Randy Bullock field goal for an early 3-0 lead. Saquon Barkley made an impressive one-handed, 17-yard catch against his shoulder pad to help the drive.

Then, while trailing 7-3 late in the second quarter, the Giants benefitted from a ridiculous unnecessary roughness call against the Saints’ Alontae Taylor on a legal tackle against Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger on a third-and-long.

Barkley earned a hard four yards to convert on 4th and 2 at the Saints’ 44-yard line with 1:19 to play. Then DeVito was knocked out of the game temporarily on a huge but legal hit by Saints corner Isaach Yiadom, a former Giant.

While DeVito was being evaluated for a concussion, Tyrod Taylor replaced him and gained another 13 yards to set up a 40-yard field goal by punter Jamie Gillan at the buzzer to draw within a point.

The left-footed Gillan was attempting a field goal because Bullock (hamstring) had left the game injured after pulling up lame on a kickoff in the first quarter.

Gillan, who had been banged-up earlier in the game himself, drove his first-ever made field goal through the uprights with returner Gunner Olszewski holding.

That only became a footnote on a disappointing afternoon and season, though. The Giants aren’t officially eliminated from the playoffs, but it’s only a matter of time.

“You’ve gotta earn the right to get where you want to go, those goals that you have,” said tight end Darren Waller, who had four catches for 40 yards in his return to the lineup. “You’ve got to go into tough environments and win. It’s tough to swallow, no doubt about it.”