The Saints dropped their third straight game to the New York Giants, 52-27 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The Saints’ turnover woes continued, and the Giants capitalized on early fumbles by Marques Colston and Jed Collins, and two second-half interceptions by Drew Brees. But the Saints defense struck first when defensive back Elbert Mack intercepted Eli Manning for a 73-yard touchdown return early in the first quarter.
But Giants rookie running back and return specialist David Wilson responded — immediately and emphatically — with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Wilson set a new club record with 327 all-purpose yards.
The Saints moved the ball well in the second quarter, but settled for field goals when a pair of long drives that chewed nearly ten minutes off the clock both sputtered in the red zone.
From there, the Giants scored three unanswered touchdowns over seven minutes, growing their lead from one to 22 points by the middle of the third quarter.
The Saints offense showed some signs of life late in the third, after a touchdown run and touchdown reception by Darren Sproles cut the Giants’ lead to eight — however, much like the last few weeks, whenever the Saints began to click their opponent responded quickly.
The Giants closed out the fourth quarter with 17 unanswered points, including a ten-yard strike from Manning to Victor Cruz, and a 52-yard touchdown run that allowed Wilson to put an exclamation point on his career day.
The Saints are still mathematically alive in the playoff hunt, but at 5 and 8, for all intents and purposes, are now out of the race.
