Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints defense got 5 takeaways on Sunday against the New York Giants, more than they had in their previous four games combined. Two interceptions by Kool-Aid McKinstry and three forced fumbles were the biggest factor in the Saints first win of the season. The fumble recoveries were impactful early, as they recovered a dropped ball by Jaxson Dart close to the end of the half which led to a 16-14 lead. Later, Bryan Bresee punched the ball out of Cam Skattebo’s hands and Jordan Howden picked it up in stride and returned it for a touchdown. With this game, the Saints now rank tied for 5th in the NFL in takeaways. If they can keep this going it will keep them in nearly every game they play, and hopefully lead to a lot more wins.
The Saints ran for just 88 yards on 30 attempts for an average of 2.9 yards per carry. The Giants defense ranks 25th in the NFL against the run, giving up 140 yards per game on the ground. The Saints did fall behind early which meant they couldn’t establish the run until after halftime. But they still would like to get the run game going more, especially around the end zone since they have been struggling to punch it in form close range.
Jaxson Dart was able to scramble 7 times for 55 yards against the Saints. Four of these seven runs by Dart were for first downs, and three of them were for 10+ yards. Thankfully it did not cost them in the end since they were able to take the ball away so frequently, but if this were not the case this may have been the deciding factor in the game. Dart ran for 54 yards the previous week, so they must have known he was a threat to pick up yards with his legs, but still let him convert four first downs by escaping the pocket. They did win the game so this is really just a nitpick, but down the road let’s hope this doesn’t cost them if they can’t manage to take the ball away this frequently again.
