New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants: Preview, Prediction, and More
New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants
The New York Giants will be hosting the New Orleans Saints in their first home game of the 2016 season. The Giants come into the game with a 1-0 record, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 20-19 in Week 1. The Saints will be making their visit to MetLife Stadium coming off a 35-34 loss to the Oakland Raiders in their season opener.
This will be a game that garners the attention of fantasy football players and fans of the game in general. Last season in their matchup both offenses put on clinics. It was a shootout of epic proportions as the Saints defeated the Giants 52-49 in the Superdome.
It would be surprising to see that much offense again, but this should be a high scoring game. The Giants defense is improved over last season, but Drew Brees has had their number in his career. He is 5-1 against the Giants with 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Will the Giants be able to slow him down to pick up the victory and move to 2-0 on the season, or will the Saints get their first win of the season?
Key To The Game
The pass defense will be the key in this game. Eli Manning and Brees absolutely torched the defense last season; will there be a repeat this season?
The Giants did their best in the offseason to make sure that it doesn’t. In addition to holdover Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Giants added Janoris Jenkins, Eli Apple, Leon Hall, and Darian Thompson. Those are some major upgrades, while the Saints will be coming into the game hampered in the secondary.
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Top cornerback Delvin Breaux will miss this game and multiple weeks with a broken fibula. In his place the Saints will be rolling with second-year player P.J. Williams and two undrafted free agents; De’Vante Harris and Ken Crawley. All three made their professional debuts last week and will have a tall task this week.
The Giants have one of the best receiving trios in the NFL led by Odell Beckham Jr. Behind him are promising rookie Sterling Shepard and veteran Victor Cruz. Both looked great in a supporting role to Beckham against the Cowboys in Week 1, and the Saints will struggle mightily to slow them down.
Brees will have to have a monster game to keep up with the Giants explosive offense as Beckham Jr., Shepard and Cruz should all have monster games against the porous Saints’ secondary.
Odds:
Point Spread: Giants -5
Moneyline: Giants -110
Over/Under: 53.5 points
Prediction:
This will be a fun game for fans to watch, but could be a long day for each defensive unit. The Giants defense is coming off a strong effort against the Cowboys, but will have to get more pressure on Brees than they did Dak Prescott; that should be easier as the Saints offensive line doesn’t come close to the Cowboys unit.
As for the Saints, playing defense will be a struggle all season, especially with the injuries they are facing. This will be another high scoring game, but the Saints will not be able to keep up with the Giants, especially away from the friendly confines of the Superdome.
Next: New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants: 5 Realistic Predictions
Expect a lot of points to be scored, but for the Giants defense to come up with stops when they need them most; the same cannot be said for the sieve the Saints call a defense.
Final Score: Saints: 24, Giants 38