The New York Giants suffered another tough loss on Sunday, as the team was defeated by the New Orleans Saints 52-49 after the Saints converted a last second field goal. Eli Manning had six touchdowns and Odell Beckham caught three of them, but it was not enough for the G-Men to pull out the victory.
The Giants had the lead late in the fourth quarter before allowing the Saints to tie the game with a touchdown pass by Drew Brees. With things tied at 49-49, the Giants made a huge mistake on a punt, allowing a long return and committing a penalty, which allowed New Orleans to attempt the winning field goal. Despite the loss, the Giants remain in first place in the NFC East, as the Redskins and Eagles are on a bye, while the Cowboys lost to the Seattle Seahawks.
Manning had six touchdowns and zero interceptions in the game, but the Giants still managed to lose by giving up seven passing touchdowns to Drew Brees. The two quarterbacks set a record for combined touchdowns in a game and the teams combined for over 1000 total yards of offense. Head coach Tom Coughlin said the team was "frustrated" with the way the game ended, but that the offense performed very well and they can take some positives from that.
The Giants defense gave up a ton of yards, but they also nearly helped the team win with Trumaine McBride's fumble return for a touchdown. The team couldn't stop the Saints and let New Orleans score with under a minute left before allowing a long punt return and then getting called for a facemask penalty. The Giants now are 4-4 on the season and they will play next on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Giants are dealing with some injuries coming out of the game, with Larry Donnell, Orleans Darkwa and Geoff Schwartz getting banged up. According to ESPN.com, Donnell injured his neck and was not able to return to the game, while Darkwa was taken out after suffering a back injury. Schwartz left in the second half with an ankle injury and the offensive line is one area the team cannot afford to lose a starter.
There were some wild offensive numbers in this game, with Eli Manning passing for 350 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. Odell Beckham had eight catches for 130 yards and three touchdowns, while Brees threw for seven touchdowns and had over 500 passing yards. The Giants play the Bucs next before hosting the Patriots and after that the team has a bye week. The Giants are still right in the NFC East race, but the defense will have to play better moving forward if the team wants to make the playoffs.
