The Giants Gained 461 Yards and Still Lost. Four Turnovers Will Do That.

New York had 461 yards of offense, which looks incredible until you see the four turnovers sitting right next to it. New Orleans won 34-27 without dominating total yardage because the Giants couldn't stop handing back their own opportunities. A team that can move the ball this well should not need miracles to stay in a game.

This game turned in the final 78 seconds of the first half. New York was up 10-0. Daniel Carlson made a 58-yard field goal, the Saints recovered a forced fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Tyler Shough immediately scrambled 25 yards to get inside the Giants' five. With five seconds left, Kellen Moore chose to attack on fourth down. Shough found rookie Bryce Lance for his first NFL touchdown, and the halftime score was tied. New Orleans took the opening second-half drive 69 yards for another score. That's how a ten-point lead becomes a seven-point deficit without the other offense even touching the ball.

Malik Nabers put on a show with 12 receptions for 165 yards. J.J. McCarthy threw for 243 after Jameis Winston had also taken snaps and thrown for 152. The receivers were creating plays, and the offense gave fans real bursts of excitement. But three interceptions split between those two quarterbacks are hard to survive, no matter how many yards Nabers picks up after the catch.

Shough only threw for 144 yards, but he recorded three passing touchdowns and ran for another. The Saints finished with 319 yards and capitalized on the drives that mattered. Alvin Kamara supplied 69 yards and a touchdown on nine touches. Meanwhile, the Saints' defense got five sacks and four takeaways; Martin Emerson Jr. made two interceptions and broke up four passes. A tidy highlight of a big pass isn't as valuable as taking the ball away.

Jameis Winston threw for 152 yards, one touchdown and two picks before John Harbaugh made the move to J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy initially threw an interception himself, then immediately gave New York a different level of urgency. He went 11-of-21 for 243 yards and a touchdown in his limited action, directing three late touchdown drives. Malik Nabers was outstanding with 12 catches for 165 yards, while Isaiah Likely added six for 99 and a score. This was not a team with no offensive talent.

The quarterback change made everything look more chaotic, but the game had already slipped away before Harbaugh made it. New Orleans went from a 10-0 deficit to a 34-10 lead on 34 unanswered points. The Giants did not possess the ball between the Saints' tying touchdown at the end of the second quarter and their go-ahead score after halftime. That's the stretch New York will regret long after people finish debating who should start at quarterback.

The play that decided the game

But look at what it cost to make this competitive. The Giants' four turnovers, including the special-teams fumble and three quarterback interceptions, erased too much good work. McCarthy nearly capped his comeback on a final fourth-down throw intended for Likely, but it sailed out of reach. I can't crown him for one electric quarter, and I won't call Winston the only problem when special teams also gave away points.

New Orleans deserves criticism even in victory. It ran up 34 straight points, then collapsed when McCarthy entered. Over its final four meaningful possessions the Saints managed only 20 yards, and the defense couldn't close out the big lead cleanly. You can praise Emerson's coverage and Shough's decision-making without pretending this was a complete four-quarter performance.

6ix's take

My take: the Giants moved the ball all day and still handed their opponent four chances to punish them. New Orleans punished those mistakes, then nearly gave the whole thing back. Both coaching staffs have ugly film to explain, and that's a much more useful takeaway than staring at New York's pretty 461-yard number.