The New Orleans Saints continued their losing streak and are now 0-2 after being defeated 16-13 by the New York Giants in MetLife Stadium in the final seconds of the game. This will be the second game in a row where the Saints have suffered a heart-wrenching loss during the last minute of play. There are several Saints Week Two takeaways.
New Orleans Saints Week Two Takeaways
Tight End Coby Fleener Still Hasn’t Found his Groove
The Saints added Coby Fleener this off-season by signing him to a five-year, $36 million deal. Before the regular season even began, reports were circulating that the former Stanford Cardinal was having trouble grasping the Saints playbook. Fleener proved this to be true In Week One when the Saints played the the Oakland Raiders. In New Orleans’ first game of the season Fleener had only one catch and was targeted only four times.
Fleener did not look much better on Sunday against the Giants. He finished the game with only two catches for 27 yards despite being targeted eight times. Fleener simply has not been able to create the same dynamic with Drew Brees that Brees has had with previous tight ends since Brees joined the Saints in 2006. At $7.2 million a year, Fleener will need to make more plays.
An Already Dismal Cornerback Situation Just Became a Whole Lot Worse
New Orleans lost their number one cornerback for six weeks during their Week one game against Oakland when Delvin Breaux fractured his fibula. P.J. Williams was serving as the Saints number one cornerback in Breaux’s place during Sunday’s game. But Williams ended up leaving the stadium in an ambulance strapped to a board after he took two blows to the head. The first shot came from the Giants tight end Larry Donnell and the second one came from his own teammate, Saints linebacker, Craig Robertson. An unproven and inexperienced secondary in New Orleans just became even more uncertain.
The Saints Defense Came to Play
When the Saints last played the Giants (in 2015), 101 points were scored and 13 touchdown passes were thrown. In a duel where similar offensive fireworks were expected, the result was a game of ball control and play action.
The Saints have one of the worst ranked defenses in the league and little was expected of them going into their game against the G-Men. The Giants should have been able to exploit the Saints mediocre secondary, but that did not happen. Instead, the Saints defense kept the game limited to three field goals and no offensive touchdowns. The lone touchdown scored by the Giants was when New York blocked a Wil Lutz kick.
The Saints defense forced three turnovers and had two sacks. Head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen could not have asked for more from this group. The highlights began when the Giants fumbled three straight possessions in the second quarter. The most damaging one came when Ken Crawley‘s hit forced a fumble from the Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz. The defense didn’t stop there and went for a hat trick. Cruz’s fumble was followed by a sack by Cam Jordan, which was the first sack of the season for the Saints. Jordan’s sack was immediately followed by a sack by Michael Mauti, which was the first sack of Mauti’s career.
The defense actually gave Brees the opportunities he needed, but the offense was unable to capitalize against the Giants on Sunday.
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