After kickoff, you never know exactly what you are going to get. Two years ago, the anticipated high-wire act never got off the ground as the Giants outlasted the Saints 16-13 on a steamy mid-September day at MetLife Stadium, a showdown that turned into a lowdown. Heck, the lone touchdown scored that day by the Giants came early, on a blocked field goal return, as a defensive struggle ensued.
“I can’t even speak about that, honestly,’’ safety Landon Collins said. “That was a different team with different players.’’
Sure enough. Two years later, many of the names and faces have changed, but Drew Brees, at 39, is still slinging it for the Saints, and he arrives in style — with an offense averaging 34.7 points a game and two playmates, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, who thus far have not been stopped, or even slowed.
Sunday in Week 4 could evolve into a slugfest but that is not likely, not based on what the Saints bring to the field, even on the road. The Giants, as they have the first three games, will play without their best pass rusher, linebacker Olivier Vernon (ankle), and for a second consecutive week will make do without starting cornerback Eli Apple.
The Giants have not cracked the 30-point party in 36 consecutive games. They had 20 at halftime last week in Houston but fizzled in the second half until a late touchdown secured a 27-22 victory, the first for coach Pat Shurmur after an 0-2 start. If Eli Manning and an offense operating with Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley but without injured tight end Evan Engram needs to crank it up and produce a 30-point outing, can they?
“You game plan, you see what plays you like and you go execute and so that’s all you can worry about,’’ said Manning, coming off a brilliant performance against the Texans. “You never put a ‘You have to score this amount or that amount.’ You always have goals you want to hit in general, but you play the game and you don’t know what’s going to happen or what the circumstances are. You just got to be ready for whatever game it turns out to be.’’
It will be interesting to see how Shurmur approaches this. The Saints allow 336.7 passing yards per game and give up an NFL-low 3.0 yards per rushing attempt. The metrics say pass it all day, every day. With Barkley, the Giants want to be balanced, though they do not mind getting the ball in his hands by tossing it to him.
“They definitely pop out on tape,” Barkley said. “They’re fast, they’re a physical team. They’ve got some great linebackers over there, great defensive linemen over there.’’
The Saints also have a defense allowing 34.3 points a game.
“We’ve got to play the game like we play it, and it’s important that we get big plays, but it’s also important that we move the ball and score,’’ Shurmur said. “That’s the most important piece, is to score and continue to score however you do it.’’
Marquee matchup
Saints DE Cam Jordan vs. Giants RT Chad Wheeler
Forgive a young guy like Wheeler if he starts to think someone does not like him. He makes his first start of the season in Houston and has to deal with J.J. Watt. Start No. 2 comes against another pass-rushing monster. “He drew some touch matchups,’’ understated coach Pat Shurmur.
Jordan came into the league in 2011 and has 63.5 sacks since. The only other player in that span with 60 sacks and 35 passes defensed? Watt. Jordan is up to his usual tricks, with four sacks this season. Unlike some elite sack-artists, Jordan plays the run with vigor. Wheeler, replacing benched Ereck Flowers, battled Watt but talent won out, as Watt notched his first three sacks of 2018.
Wheeler’s aggressiveness finishing off his blocks in the run game impressed the Giants coaching staff but he ranked very low (35.9) in pass blocking by Pro Football Focus, and if Flowers had this performance he’d have been roasted. Wheeler will need help dealing with Jordan. Expect to see tight end Rhett Ellison lined up on the right side and watch Eli Manning move Saquon Barkley over to that side to help chip Jordan in an attempt to at least slow him up.
Four downs
Spread the wealth: Six different Giants players caught a pass of at least 15 yards against the Texans. Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley were two of the six, and they will be targeted more frequently than the others as the season progresses.
“Our marquee players, so to speak, need to touch the ball,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said. Of course they do, but not exclusively. Shurmur, after two losses, condensed the play-book a bit, explaining he wanted to “make sure we were running things that we were familiar with.’’ The result was less confusion up front along the offensive line and a nice blend of Beckham and Barkley and others making contributions. More of the same will be needed to hang with the high-flying and high-scoring Saints.
“That’s the best way to play ball, because the ball gets spread around for the right reasons,’’ Shurmur said. “If only one guy touches it and you score two more touchdowns, hooray. But in reality, if eight or nine guys touched the ball, then when you look at that from the defensive side of things, you say, ok, we’ve just got to play team defense.’’
Peaceful Brees-y feeling: No one shreds the Giants quite like Drew Brees. He almost always rips them apart. In seven starts against the Giants, Brees has 20 touchdown passes, four interceptions, averages 311 passing yards per game and his passer rating is 112.1. That is the highest rating of any quarterback against the Giants in the Super Bowl era, with a minimum of 100 passing attempts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Brees is 5-2 when facing the Giants. “He’s definitely that good, he’s the icon of their organization,’’ safety Landon Collins said. “Looking forward to playing him.’’
Deadly duo: There are hot starts, then there is what is going on with Michael Thomas. He has 38 receptions, the most in NFL history after three games. He is on pace for 203 catches, and his connection this season with Brees is uncanny and nearly perfect: 95 percent (40 targets, 38 receptions). The Saints will line up Thomas all over, and when he moves into the slot he is especially difficult to cover,because at 6-foot-3 he is too big for most slot corners. Will Janoris Jenkins follow Thomas into the slot? Probably not, putting the onus on B.W. Webb and Donte Deayon. “Anywhere they put him you got to be aware he’s a focal point,’’ defensive coordinator James Bettcher said.
Kick start: Back in 2015, 101 points were scored in a Giants-Saints game and nothing was decided until a last-second field goal. Kicker Aldrick Rosas has not experienced that sort of drama yet this season. Back for a second season, he is 7-for-7 on field goals and at some point the Giants will need him to win a game for them. “He’s doing a great job,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. “You always need a little fine tuning, and he’s finding his way.’’
Paul’s pick
This is, by far, the stiffest test yet for the Giants’ defense, and they might not have enough talent in the secondary to deal with everything thrown at them. A crisp autumn day will not hurt the traveling Saints at all, playing outdoors for the first time this season. Odell Beckham Jr. needs to find the end zone, maybe more than once.
Saints 31, Giants 24
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