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Game Preview: Giants, Saints vie for position in NFC standings

SAQUON-BARKLEY-TERADATA

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J – The Giants and New Orleans Saints are in similar positions, but with different outlooks. That could change Sunday when the teams meet in the Caesars Superdome.

The Saints are ranked 11th and the Giants 12th in the current NFC standings, based on tiebreakers. New Orleans is one of six conference teams that enters Week 15 with a 6-7 record. The Giants are 5-8 after their victory Monday night against the Green Bay Packers, who are also 6-7 and currently hold the seventh and final conference playoff seed.

But the Saints control their playoff destiny. A win in each of their final four games will guarantee a postseason spot. The Giants, even if they continue their late-season surge through the final game, will need help to play on Super Wild Card Weekend.

The Giants can't be eliminated this week. However, they must leapfrog five teams with six wins over the final four weeks to sneak into the final playoff spot. It will be extremely difficult to play an 18th game if they don't improve their 2-5 road record tomorrow and win in one of the NFL's loudest venues.

"Great atmosphere there," coach Brian Daboll said. "It's loud, they have a great fan base, so you've got to try to prepare the best you can, make it as loud as you can. The communication is of the utmost importance. It's a challenging environment to play in."

The Giants are 2-3 in indoor games under Daboll, winning the NFC Wild Card Game in Minnesota in January and in Arizona on Sept. 17. They are 4-8 in the Superdome. Their victory there on Oct. 3, 2021, broke a five-game losing streak in the building that stretched from 1994-2015.

"It's a tough, fun environment to play in," said Saquon Barkley, who scored the game-winning touchdown on a 6-yard run when the Giants won in New Orleans two seasons ago. "Dope stadium. And we got a win, so that was fun, but that was many years ago, going against a team that is coming off a win, they're playing great and it's going to be a tough challenge and a tough environment."

View photos of the Giants on the practice field ahead of the Week 15 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints and Giants have some notable similarities. Both teams recently endured three-game losing streaks. The Saints ended theirs with a 28-6 victory against Carolina last week.

After the two teams face each other, they will each play the Los Angeles Rams – also 6-7 – and two division games (the Giants will face Philadelphia twice, while the Saints will play Tampa Bay and Atlanta, with whom they are tied atop the NFC South).

"(The division games will) be extremely, extremely important if we take care of business this week against the Giants," New Orleans coach Dennis Allen said. "The margin for error is extremely small right now, and we need to make sure we're taking advantage of every opportunity."

The teams are tied for fifth in the NFL with 22 takeaways. Their star running backs – Alvin Kamara and Barkley – were the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in successive seasons (2017-18), and each has totaled 966 scrimmage yards this season.

Each team has received a huge boost from an undrafted rookie. Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, has played three consecutive games without throwing an interception and could become the first undrafted rookie at his position to win four straight games. New Orleans' Rashid Shaheed is averaging 16.2 yards-per-catch and has three receiving touchdowns and is second in the NFL in both punt return (14.4 yards) and kickoff return (21.4) average. His diverse skillset has caught the attention of several Giants coaches.

"I don't know how fast he is, but I haven't seen anybody catch him," defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. "He's as fast as you need him to be and not only is he fast, but he's also quick. Usually, the real fast guys are stiff. This guy can get in and out of breaks and he's a talented kid."

"He is a special athlete," special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. "You see a lot of speed. He's very, very talented. He does a really good job of fielding the ball and then just being explosive and he has scary, excellent straight-line speed, really good with the ball in his hands.

"I liked him when he came out (of Weber State), but a lot of times when guys are viewed as just returner-only types, they'll fall through the cracks and won't get drafted. It depends on who's coming out that year, who's getting the hype and all that stuff. But they've done a good job of nurturing the kid and bringing him along and developing him."

Martindale and McGaughey must deal with another versatile Saints weapon in Taysom Hill, the Saints' third-string quarterback, the league's most misleading designation. Hill is New Orleans' second leading rusher with 346 yards and four touchdowns (and averages 4.9 yards a carry), fifth with 33 receptions (including three scores), he's the punt protector, a rusher on the punt return team – and he has completed five of eight passes, including one for a touchdown.

"When we were all playing high school football, he was the guy who was all-state in football, basketball and baseball," Martindale said. "He's just better than everybody else. He's just a really good football player and he's even better when he has the ball in his hands."

Kamara is a five-time Pro Bowler who leads the Saints with 564 rushing yards and five touchdowns and is second with 63 receptions.

"He just plays the game his way, how he wants to, very poised, very relaxed, very calm," cornerback Adoree' Jackson said. "It doesn't seem like he stresses himself on anything. He just goes out there like, 'Alright, I'm going to do what I've been doing since I was a kid' and what he's been doing in high school, college and in the league and it works. I think staying true to himself is what makes him dynamic."

New Orleans has a decided advantage in quarterback experience. DeVito has played in six games with four starts. Derek Carr, a first-year Saint, has started all 156 regular-season and postseason games in which he's played in 10 seasons, the first nine with the Raiders. He has thrown 231 touchdown passes and 107 interceptions. Carr hasn't missed a game this season despite rib and shoulder injuries and a concussion.

When Martindale was on the Baltimore Ravens' coaching staff from 2012-21, he faced Carr four times. The Ravens were 1-3 in those games.

"He's tough as nails," Martindale said of Carr. "He's a really good quarterback. He's good at seeing when you're bringing a pressure. You can change the protections and he knows who is going to be free if you have a free runner, he knows who that's going to be and try to run away from him. It's going to be a great challenge."

The Giants have had their ups and downs this season but never lost sight of their long-term goal. That hasn't changed as the season enters its final four weeks.

"It's always been the same," Barkley said. "We've always had the mindset that we are a competitive team and we've just got to find ways to win games. We weren't doing that in the beginning of the season. We can make every excuse in the book, but we didn't make any excuses, we just kept our head down and grinded.

"It does help that our special teams and defense are creating (12) turnovers in the last three games. Offense, especially with Tommy being at quarterback, I just feel like we're improving each week and I feel like the younger guys are getting better each week. (Wide receivers) Jalin (Hyatt), you can see Wan'Dale (Robinson) getting back to himself, (Darius) Slay(ton) always makes plays, Isaiah (Hodgins) stepping up, if we get D-Wall (tight end Darren Waller) back. You can see the O-line starting to gel together, settle down. After being able to play a couple games with each other and we find our groove at the right time and hopefully we can keep it going."

View rare photos from the all-time series between the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints.

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