The New York Giants lost to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday because they turned the ball over on five straight possessions. However, as implausible as Sunday’s string of gaffes was, this type of performance would feel like more of an aberration if this regime hadn’t been plagued by a lack of attention to detail.
It was only three weeks ago when the Giants were flagged for 21 penalties in a 40-37 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It’s easy to draw a connection between a lack of consequences for mistakes in practice and the error-filled product on game day.
So even though physical blunders by players were the primary culprit in Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the lowly Saints, the questionable decisions that have been common under coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen can’t be overlooked.
The Banks account
Daboll lamented that the Giants’ defense didn’t create any turnovers, which ignored that a pass interference penalty on cornerback Deonte Banks negated an interception by safety Jevon Holland in the first quarter.
It’s remarkable that Banks could make such a negative impact while only playing eight defensive snaps. Banks has been flagged for four penalties on just 100 snaps this season.
Banks’ bad plays tend to always come in back-breaking moments. The only completion he allowed Sunday came when he was beat on a slant by wide receiver Rashid Shaheed for an 8-yard gain on fourth-and-5 at the Giants’ 40-yard line with 4 minutes, 12 seconds remaining. That first down allowed the Saints to drain another two minutes off the clock and eliminate any faint hope of a comeback.
Banks continues to rotate with Cor’Dale Flott, who has been far more reliable. Flott won the offseason-long position battle and has continued to perform better during the season. He had a solid game against the Saints, including a pass breakup with blanket coverage on a curl route by Saints No. 1 wide receiver Chris Olave in the second quarter.
Banks has replaced Flott on passing downs throughout the season. Banks also had been getting the occasional full series in recent games, but he was limited only to passing downs on Sunday.
There’s no logical explanation to take the better corner off the field when the offense is most likely to throw. Daboll hasn’t provided insight into the decision to continue rotating the corners, which leads to the conclusion that it has to be influenced by Banks’ draft stock as a first-round pick in 2023. In a way, it’s understandable that the brass is hesitant to give up on a young player, considering how many former Giants are thriving elsewhere.
Ill-prepared
The Giants aren’t the only team that has gone into a game without all 53 roster spots filled. The difference with them is that they’ve earned no benefit of doubt because seemingly every questionable decision comes back to bite them. They’re not in a position to leave anything to chance.
The Giants used their two practice squad elevations for Sunday’s game on linebacker Neville Hewitt and kicker Jude McAtamney. With two open spots on the 53-man roster, they could have signed up to two more players from the practice squad to have available for the game.
The Giants elected not to promote wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, which left them with just five active wide receivers, and Gunner Olszewski is mostly a returner. So when Darius Slayton injured his hamstring early in the fourth quarter, the Giants only had three legitimate wide receivers available.
That was a problem since the Giants ran a no-huddle offense with three wide receivers for the rest of the game while trailing by two touchdowns. Receivers repeatedly ran deep routes and weren’t able to sub out to get a breather. Not surprisingly, they looked gassed on snaps at the end of drives.
Would Humphrey have made a difference in the game? Well, yes. He likely would have been a better option than Jalin Hyatt, who appears to have lost all confidence. Deep balls used to be Hyatt’s one strength, but he didn’t come close to hauling in two bombs on Sunday.
Undrafted rookie Beaux Collins clearly isn’t ready. His three targets produced a 7-yard catch, a drop and an interception when he stopped running his route. Dating back to the preseason, there have been three interceptions that resulted from Collins running the wrong route.
JAXSON DART INTERCEPTED AGAIN!
IT’S KOOL-AID SZN!!!!!
📺CBS pic.twitter.com/VjGehi8snx
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 5, 2025
Even if the Giants evaluated their options and determined Hyatt and Collins gave them a better chance to win, there was no reason not to promote Humphrey for depth. This is especially true since Malik Nabers is out for the season with a torn ACL, so it’s not like the wide receiver shortage is a temporary issue.
Daboll’s explanation for not dressing Humphrey emphasized the questionable roster management, as he noted that they only had two running backs, so it was possible both could have gotten hurt and “you’d have no running backs.”
Even if one running back got injured, the Giants would have been in a bind. However, they elected not to promote running back Dante Miller for the second consecutive game. They were fortunate to avoid any running back injuries, but that doesn’t justify the risk of going so light at a position.
Of course, a team can’t have the desired number of backups for every position while dressing the maximum 49 players (including the emergency quarterback). However, while the Giants were light at running back and wide receiver, they dressed nine offensive linemen.
While three of the backup offensive linemen played on the field goal unit, Marcus Mbow didn’t play a single snap. Mbow has only played one special teams snap this season: The blocked point-after against the Chiefs in Week 3. The rookie isn’t trusted in that role, but he serves as the swing tackle. So, No. 4 tackle James Hudson was active to play two snaps on the field goal team on Sunday.
The Giants loaded up on tight end depth, activating Thomas Fidone as the fourth tight end for the first time this season. Daboll wanted the extra tight end because the game plan called for more reliance on bigger personnel. With no injuries at tight end, Fidone played six snaps on special teams and none on offense.
The Giants had six wide receivers active for the first four games, even though Hyatt barely played. So, they obviously valued the receiver depth and would have been capable of finding a spot for Humphrey within the game-day roster puzzle.
The Giants have just $1.6 million in salary cap space, so that has been speculated as a possible reason for not filling the 53-man roster. That wouldn’t be an acceptable explanation. A team should never be so tight to the cap that it has to compromise the game-day roster, especially in Week 5.
The cap charge for Humphrey on the game-day roster would only be $43,000 more than this practice squad cap charge, so that difference can’t be driving decisions, especially since the Giants are eventually going to need to restructure a contract to get through the season regardless.
It’s not as if the Giants have been stingy with roster spots this season. They claimed returner Xavier Gipson off waivers in Week 2 despite being stocked at returner. Gipson was a healthy scratch in Week 2 and then was cut the day before the Giants’ Week 3 game. So they carried Gipson for two weeks for $114,444, and he never suited up before getting cut.
Again, the Giants can’t be expected to have a contingency for every possible curveball. However, they’ve been burned too many times by decisions that were made hastily, such as not promoting Humphrey.
Consistently inconsistent
Four years into Daboll’s tenure, and there is still no discernible pattern to his fourth-down decision-making. Daboll consistently provides vague explanations that suggest the Giants have a proprietary formula that informs their approach. However, the decisions appear more reactionary, with little adherence to basic analytics models.
Sunday was a prime example of the inconsistency. Daboll punted on fourth-and-4 and fourth-and-2 from New York’s 48-yard line in the second quarter. Daboll then sent the punt team onto the field on fourth-and-1 from New York’s 45-yard line on the opening possession of the third quarter before changing his mind. With the offense back on the field, wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson took a handoff and got 2 yards for the first down.
Daboll noted that the Giants went for it on “a number of fourth downs.” The final four fourth-down attempts came around midfield or in Saints territory while trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter, so punting wasn’t an option.
The tough calls came in the first half when the Giants were rolling and had the chance to deliver a knockout punch. The most egregious decision was punting on fourth-and-2 from New York’s 48, the play after quarterback Jaxson Dart failed to connect with a wide-open Slayton on a flea flicker.
That was an admirably bold call on third-and-short, and everything worked except for Dart’s underthrown pass (Slayton also could have bailed his QB out with a contested catch). However, if Daboll was going to be that aggressive on third down, it’s hard to believe he wasn’t prepared to go for it on fourth down if the trick play was unsuccessful.
Each fourth-down decision can be rationalized in a vacuum. However, there appears to be a lack of an overall cohesive plan, which has been endemic to this regime.
Help wanted needed
That Slayton’s hamstring injury was bad enough to knock him out of Sunday’s game suggests he likely won’t be ready to play Thursday against the Eagles. Slayton was listed as a non-participant on Monday’s projected practice report.
GIANTS INJURY REPORT 10/6
(The Giants did not practice on Monday; participation is a projection.)
Did Not Participate:
LB Swayze Bozeman (Ankle)
OT Jermaine Eluemunor (Back)
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (Hamstring)
WR Darius Slayton (Hamstring)
Limited:
S Dane Belton… pic.twitter.com/0VJI5xEzuQ
— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) October 6, 2025
Elevating Humphrey is the obvious short-term move, but the Giants need to look outside the organization for more help, considering the limitations of Hyatt and Collins. Poaching former Giants player Isaiah Hodgins from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad remains an obvious move.
Hodgins won’t come close to replacing Nabers, but No. 1 receivers aren’t available in October. What Hodgins would do is provide an experienced, reliable target for Dart.
The Giants are in a tough spot because a 1-4 team has no business trading away for future assets for immediate help. However, they can’t flush away Dart’s rookie season with this group of weapons.
If the Giants are desperate enough, they could throw fans a bone by signing Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham is far removed from his early career brilliance, but he was productive for the Ravens in 2023. He might not be the best fit, but he’d add buzz, and that factor can’t be discounted for a regime that is facing such a bleak outlook.
Going big
The immediate adjustment to Nabers’ absence was leaning into two-tight end sets. The Giants increased their 12 personnel usage from 25 percent in the first four games to 40 percent against the Saints. That number would have been even higher if the Giants hadn’t fallen behind and abandoned the 12 personnel package to get three wide receivers on the field for most of the fourth quarter.
That was an interesting strategy against a Saints defense that entered the game playing its base 3-4 defense at the second-highest rate in the league. Typically, offenses favor 12 personnel because it provides an advantage against defenses that play more nickel with lighter personnel on the field.
Interestingly, the Saints countered by using their nickel package at a higher rate than in any other game this season. Daboll said the 12 personnel usage “simplified” New Orleans’ defense, which obviously was a benefit for a rookie quarterback. The offense moved the ball well, but turnovers repeatedly derailed drives.
The Giants used 12 personnel on a third-and-8 in the second quarter, which demonstrated how much they leaned into the heavy group — and how little faith they had in their No. 3 receiver options.
Theo Johnson has developed instant chemistry with Dart, catching three touchdown passes in the rookie’s two starts. Johnson had one touchdown in his first 15 career games. It was impressive that Johnson beat cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry for a 15-yard touchdown while split out wide.
SECOND ONE FOR THEO 🔥
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/VpGfUxQUBb
— New York Giants (@Giants) October 5, 2025
Daniel Bellinger tallied a career-high 52 yards on four catches. Bellinger made an 18-yard catch down to the Saints’ 1 to set up Johnson’s first touchdown on a well-designed play. Lined up at fullback, Bellinger slipped through the line on a play fake and was wide-open on a wheel route down the sideline for an easy completion. Bellinger isn’t a dynamic receiver, but he is reliable, which is what Dart needs.
Found wanting
It was a strange game for the Giants’ defense. The majority of the blame obviously falls on the offense for the five turnovers. However, the defense didn’t counter with any game-changing plays against a bad Saints offense. There were no takeaways and no sacks, but there were some killer penalties to extend drives. And, of course, there was a momentum-shifting 87-yard touchdown pass that put a spotlight on safety Tyler Nubin’s lack of speed.
The Giants’ red-zone defense was a highlight, keeping the Saints out of the end zone on their three trips inside New York’s 20-yard line. But the Saints had little trouble moving the ball, converting 7-of-15 third downs.
After a three-and-out on the opening possession, the Saints’ next six possessions went field goal, field goal, touchdown, missed field goal, field goal, field goal. And the Giants’ offensive implosion can’t be blamed for the defensive woes, as those first four possessions didn’t come off of turnovers and all started at or inside New Orleans’ 20-yard line.
On the edge
The Giants have discovered a solution to getting their top three outside linebackers on the field as much as possible: They don’t play a fourth outside linebacker. Chauncey Golston returned from a two-week absence and played just three defensive snaps. Golston played 83 percent of the special teams snaps, so it’s not as if his health limited his playing time.
The other tweak the past two weeks has been moving Kayvon Thibodeaux inside more on passing downs. That doesn’t maximize Thibodeaux’s strengths, but it’s the tradeoff to get Abdul Carter more reps on the edge.
Thibodeaux, Carter and Brian Burns made plays against the run, but the trio had minimal impact rushing the passer. The Saints had a good game plan to get the ball out quickly, which future opponents might adopt to neutralize the Giants’ formidable pass rush. The Giants’ pass rush is supposed to help the coverage, but they allowed too many easy completions to Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler.
