An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Saints Week 4 matchup in New Orleans:
Marquee Matchup
Saints DE Cameron Jordan vs. Giants RT Nate Solder
This has trouble written all over it for the Giants. Jordan has 94.5 career sacks and is looking for his first one in 2021, so you know he will be on the prowl to drop Daniel Jones. Jordan can also wreck a running game — his 63 tackles for loss since 2017 are second in the NFL to Aaron Donald. Solder will need help in the form of a tight end on his side and a running back asked to provide chip blocks on Jordan. It might not be enough. The plan to rotate in Matt Peart at right tackle has been junked, meaning this is Solder’s battle to wage.
Paul’s Pick
Nope. Not this week, either. This is the kind of spot — at a tough road environment, as heavy underdogs — in which the Giants under Joe Judge are often feisty losers. We will believe it when we see it. The Saints are better across the board, and who is going to chase down Alvin Kamara play after play? The joint will be jumping. Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Not the Giants.
Saints 31, Giants 17
Cameron Jordan and Nate Solder AP, Getty Images4 Downs
Radio Head: Yes, there are voices in the head of Tae Crowder. The second-year linebacker last week donned the green-dot helmet with the radio transmitter inside, replacing injured Blake Martinez as the player to relay the calls into the huddle from defensive coordinator Pat Graham. This is an immense new responsibility for Crowder, dubbed Mr. Irrelevant as the last player picked in the 2020 draft. Martinez (knee) is done for the season.
“It’ll be tough,’’ said Crowder, who missed time this past week with a hamstring issue. “Blake is a leader. He’s one of the captains of the defense, so that’s always tough losing a captain of the defense, but it’s a next-man-up mentality.’’
New Guy, Not Like The Old Guy: The last time the Giants played in New Orleans, during the 2015 season, Eli Manning and Drew Brees were the ringleaders of an aerial circus in a 52-49 Saints victory. Replacing Brees was always going to be a challenge, but Jameis Winston, who was cast off by the Buccaneers, has been rejuvenated playing for Sean Payton, always a friend to quarterbacks. There is not a throw Winston cannot make, but he can be goaded into mistakes — though not nearly as often as in the past.
New Kid on the Block: All this losing can distort some of the good stuff going on. Some of the best stuff for the Giants on defense is coming from rookie outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, the second-round pick. He was thought to be one of the best pass rushers in the 2021 draft and, lo and behold, he is living up to that billing. Four players in the league have at least one sack in each of the first three games: Brian Burns and Haason Reddick of the Panthers, Von Miller of the Broncos … and Ojulari. If Ojulari gets one against the Saints, he will join Santana Dotson (1992) and Terrell Suggs (2003) as the only rookies since 1982 to record a sack in each of their first four career games.
Dead Zone: Here is the tally from nine red zone appearances for the Giants’ offense this season: three touchdowns (one in each of the first three games); four field goals; two empty, pointless trips. The 33 percent success rate of getting into the end zone is 31st in the NFL, behind only the Patriots.
“We’ll obviously dive into a couple of focal points to make sure that we finish in the red zone,” Judge said. “That’s been something we have to do obviously better as a team.”
Obviously. Last season, the Giants scored touchdowns on just 46.3 percent of their red-zone trips, 31st in the league.






