Grading the Giants’ 14-11 loss to the Saints at MetLife Stadium on Sunday:
Offense
C’mon. After all these weeks this is the slop they put on the field?
Some late yards near the end made for a little lipstick on this pig.
Going 5-for-19 on third down is terrible.
Drew Lock misfired on his first eight passes — there were some drops in there — and finished 21-for-49 for 227 yards and one INT.
It is rare to have 28 incomplete passes in a game.
This was remarkably inefficient.
His legs (5-59) worked better than his arm.
Nothing doing on the ground for Tyrone Tracy Jr. (16-45).
WR Malik Nabers was limited with a hip flexor and all his production (5-79) came in the second half.
He also was flagged for a false start.
C John Michael Schmitz did not pick up a stunt that resulted in a third-down sack for Bryan Bresee.
He also was hit with a holding penalty.
Patchwork starters at tackle were not devastatingly bad.
Not enough points.
Rinse and repeat.
Grade: F
Defense
Allowing only 14 points — none in the fourth quarter — and limiting the Saints to 5-for-15 on third down was good stuff.
Keeping Alvin Kamara (17-44) in check was even better, especially with fill-in starting DTs Elijah Chatman and Jordon Riley.
It looked as if half the guys out there got outmuscled as Kendre Miller got pushed by the pile on an 8-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.
Micah McFadden took the lead on the inside and was active with 11 tackles — an eye-popping five for loss.
Brian Burns had a sack of Derek Carr for a 9-yard loss.
Burns was also called for an offside penalty.
Rookie Tyler Nubin had a bad 26-yard pass interference penalty late in the first half.
CB Tre Hawkins had a leaping interception — yes, an interception — in the third quarter, the first pick for the Giants since Week 1.
Kayvon Thibodeaux had a sack of Jake Haener late in the fourth quarter.
Grade: A
Special Teams
You had to ask?
This is a hard one to believe: Graham Gano’s 48-yard field goal was taken off the board when Jake Kubas was called for unnecessary roughness.
This is even harder to believe: Gano’s 35-yarder to send the game into overtime was blocked when Bresee jumped over Kubas.
Just incredible.
Heads-up on a failed Saints fake punt in the second quarter, with Dane Belton and Anthony Johnson making the stop.
Here is a killer: Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s 56-yard punt return for a touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty on Greg Stroman. … Jamie Gillan’s first punt was perfect.
It traveled 47 yards and bounced out of bounds on the 2-yard line.
Gillan later hit one that bounced out at the 8-yard line.
Casey Rogers blocked Blake Grupe’s 60-yard field goal attempt.
Grade: F
Coaching
You can set your watch to the consistency of the struggles on offense.
Brian Daboll calls the plays and whatever he calls in usually fails.
He has been unable to elevate the quarterback play on his team to an acceptable level.
Not going for a 54-yard field goal try for Gano in the first quarter was a head-scratcher.
Credit coordinator Shane Bowen for getting his undermanned group on the front end and in the secondary ready to play.
A bunch of young guys all came to play.
Grade: D
