The New York Giants (5-8) travel down to The Big Easy to face off against the New Orleans Saints (6-7) on Sunday afternoon at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Here are five things to know before Sunday afternoon’s Week 15 kickoff.
The series
Sunday’s matchup will be the 32nd between the Giants and Saints since New Orleans entered the NFL as an expansion team back in 1967.
The Giants lead the series, 17-14, with all of the games occurring in the regular season.
The teams have split the last six meetings with the Giants winning the most recent contest, 27-21 at Caesars Superdome on Oct. 3, 2021.
What's at stake
The Saints are 6-7 and in a three-way tie for the NFC South lead with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons. They are currently ranked 11th in the NFC, with three teams standing between them and the final playoff spot, held by the Green Bay Packers.
The Giants are 5-8 and are in third place in the NFC East, five full games behind both the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles who are both 10-3. The Giants are ranked 12th in the NFC, just one game out of the final playoff spot but have four teams between them and Green Bay, starting with the Saints.
Whoever wins this game will keep pace in the wild Wild Card fray in the NFC. The loser will drop further behind — and perhaps out — of the race.
The line on the Saints
The Saints broke a three-game losing streak last Sunday with a 28-6 victory over the Carolina Panthers at home.
The Saints are ranked 13th in the league in total offense (14th in passing, 20th in rushing) and 13th in defense (tied for 26th vs. the run and ranked seventh against the pass, allowing only 189.5 net yards per game).
New Orleans is averaging 21.9 points per game (23.7 over the last three) and allowing 20.1 points per game (21.0 over the last three).
The Saints are favored by 6 points in this game. They are 3-9-1 against the spread this season.
The line on the Giants
The Giants won their third straight on Monday night, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 24-22, on a last-second field goal.
Big Blue ranks 26th in the NFL in total defense, 29th against the run, and 18th against the pass. The Giants are 31st overall in offense, however (14th rushing and 32nd passing).
The Giants are averaging just 14.1 points per game, 31st in the NFL. They have averaged 21.7 over their last three. They are allowing 24.2 points per game but just 16.0 over the last three.
The Giants are underdogs by 6 points this week. They are 5-7-1 ATS this season.
Key players to watch for
The Saints’ offense still runs through star running back Alvin Kamara, who is their leader in rushing yards and second in targets in the passing game. Kamara averages 96.6 yards from scrimmage per game.
Derek Carr is in his first season at quarterback and has started all 13 games. But…he gets spelled occasionally by Taysom Hill when they want some versatility. Hill averages nearly five yards per rushing attempt.
Chris Olave is the Saints’ top wide receiver and leads the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards. Rashid Shaheed has 25 receptions of 20 or more yards this season.
34-year-old linebacker Demario Davis leads the Saints in total tackles with 91 and is second on the team in sacks (5.5) to Carl Granderson’s 6.5.
