Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints are returning home, still with a winless record, after back-to-back road games. On Sunday, New Orleans will host the New York Giants, who are coming off their first win of the year following an upset victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
An injury-riddled Saints’ offensive line will have a tough test this week against a stout front seven of New York. The Giants rank near the middle of the league now with ten sacks, but half of those have come courtesy of linebacker Brian Burns.
Dexter Lawrence II, Bobby Okereke, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux round out the bulk of New York’s defensive grouping. One player Saints fans should pay extra attention to is cornerback Paulson Adebo. The CB signed with NYG during this offseason’s free agency period after spending 2021-24 in New Orleans.
Aside from their overtime shootout versus the Dallas Cowboys, New York’s defense has not allowed more than 22 points to an opposing offense in a single game. Last week, the Giants held the Chargers’ high-octane offense to a season-low of 18 points.
On the bright side for the Saints, New York is giving up the fourth-most yards per game across the league. Opposing offenses are moving the ball nearly 400 yards/game. As Spencer Rattler and Kellen Moore continue to improve and build the offensive efficiency of New Orleans, this game will serve as a springboard opportunity.
Getting the run game established early will help open up the offensive game plan for the Saints, but unfortunately for New Orleans, the loss of starting guard Cesar Ruiz due to injury will not make that job any easier.
The Saints’ offense showed promise once more against the Buffalo Bills, but ultimately could not get the job done when it mattered. They’re going to need to figure out how to put more points on the board, and I am sure fans would appreciate if that could happen sooner rather than later.
Being back in the Caesars Superdome and in front of the Who Dat faithful should give the Saints a boost necessary to come out on top this weekend. With New Orleans being the only team without a win remaining in the NFC, I would expect the Saints to play hard and with passion to earn their first victory of 2025.
