New Orleans’ Week 1 woes continued on Sunday with a gut-wrenching 35-34 loss to the Oakland Raiders. The Saints simply had no answer for Oakland quarterback Derek Carr who finished with 319 yards and a touchdown. It was a disappointing defeat for the Saints who squandered a 14-point second-half advantage. The Saints could have escaped with the victory but they failed to stop Oakland’s audacious two-point conversion in the game’s dying seconds.
They will look to get their season back on track when they lock horns with the New York Giants this coming Sunday. For the Saints to record the much-needed win, they will need to get another huge performance from Drew Brees. He was superb in the game against Oakland, completing 28 of 42 passes for 423 yards and four touchdowns.
Brees eclipsed 400 passing yards in a single game for the 14th time in his career, tying the now-retired Peyton Manning for the most such performances in NFL history. He will have his work cut out for him, however, against an ever-improving Giants defense that held Dallas to just 328 total yards on Sunday.
The Saints are 3-2 SU and ATS in their last five road games.
The Giants’ 2016 NFL campaign is off to a solid start after they defeated arch-rivals Dallas, 20-19, in their opening game on Sunday. Eli Manning impressed in his season debut, completing 19 of 28 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning pass to Victor Cruz with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
It was an emotional return for Cruz who who missed most of 2014 with a knee injury and all of last season with a bad calf. With Cruz now back, much is expected from the Giants’ attack which ranked eighth in the league in total offense (372.3 YPG) and seventh in passing (271.7 YPG) last season. Cruz finished with four receptions for 34 yards on Sunday.
It wasn’t just Cruz who benefited from Manning’s strong play against the Cowboys. Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard combined for 116 receiving yards and a touchdown in the win against Dallas.
The Giants will look to build on that strong start when they square off with the New Orleans Saints this coming weekend. They will be licking their chops at the prospect of facing a New Orleans defense that surrendered 486 total yards on Sunday. The Giants will also take comfort in the fact that they have fared extremely well against the Saints at home of late. The Giants have won four of their last five home games against the Saints.
The Giants are 3-2 ATS in their last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Manning provides the heroics once again as he leads the Giants (-5) to a 34-28 win over the Saints.
