The New Orleans Saints have fallen to 1-4 and are now set to travel to MetLife to take on the 3-1-1 New York Giants.
After their promising two-week start, the Saints have been dominated in their last nine quarters of football and are looking to get back on track against a team that doesn’t appear to be a whole lot better than them on paper. But if New Orleans wants to get back in the win column, they’ll have to take advantage of these key matchups.
Saints pass rush vs. QB Jameis Winston
Saints fans may know it better than anyone other than Tampa
Bay Buccaneers fans how to beat Giants quarterback Jameis Winston: make him make mistakes.
Winston is coming off a big win in the team’s tie with the Washington Commanders, throwing for 326 yards and 3 touchdowns with a 61.1 completion percentage. It was Winston’s best game of the season, and his second consecutive 3-touchdown game. Winston, who has been less than accurate this season, has a 57.6 completion rate over his four starts and has thrown 3 interceptions.
Carl Granderson is coming off a strong game, and Chase Young is having a stellar season, logging 4 sacks in 5 games. Granderson and Young will both need to show up on Sunday to disrupt the Giants’ quarterback. The Saints defense has struggled plenty this season, but is coming off a decent showing against the Minnesota Vikings. While Kyler Murray still completed 80% of his passes, he only threw for 229 yards on 24 completions and one touchdown.
If the Saints’ pass rush finds success on Sunday, it will make Winston’s chances of making mistakes significantly higher, and New Orleans could finally win in October.
QB Tyler Shough vs. Giants secondary
Tyler Shough is coming off the worst game of his career, but luckily for him, he won’t face a defense as good as the Vikings for the rest of the season. Unfortunately for Shough, he’ll be facing one of the better pass defenses in the league against the Giants. New York has the seventh-ranked pass defense.
The Saints’ philosophy so far this season has been relying on Shough’s arm to pull them out of poor position. New Orleans hasn’t been able to establish the run, and play-calling has been subpar at best. While it’s easier to say the Saints should take advantage of the Giants’ bottom-10 run defense, the Saints haven’t shown the ability to run the ball, and it’s more likely we’ll see a lot more of Shough throwing on Sunday.
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry vs. WR Malik Nabers
Contrary to public opinion, Kool-Aid McKinstry has been solid for the Saints in 2026. Don’t get me wrong, his lows have been low, and when he gets beat, it is noticeable. But McKinstry was tasked with the impossible job of covering Justin Jefferson in the loss to the Vikings and held his own.
McKinstry will see another former LSU standout on Sunday against Malik Nabers, who logged 11 receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown last week. Winston looked to Nabers in must-have situations, and if the Saints’ pass rush becomes a problem on Sunday, it will likely be the same against New Orleans.
Interestingly, the Saints haven’t allowed a 100-yard wide receiver so far this season, although some have been close. Brock Bowers has been the only player to pass 100 receiving yards. Limiting Winston’s best receiver could lead to mistakes, and McKinstry could be a big reason New Orleans comes out with a win.
