A review of the Giants' 14-11 loss to the Saints on Sunday at MetLife Stadium:
offense
here we go. Is this the ramp they put on the field for weeks?
A few slow yards near the end gave this hog a bit of lipstick.
5-of-19 on third down is terrible.
Drew Lock completed 21 of 49 for 227 yards and one INT after failing on his first eight passes (including a drop).
It's rare for a player to have 28 incomplete passes in a game.
This was grossly inefficient.
His legs (5-59) worked better than his arms.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (16-45) couldn't do anything on the ground.
WR Malik Nabors is limited by a hip flexor, and all of his accomplishments (5-79) came in the second half.
He was also flagged for a false start.
C John Michael Schmitz failed to pull off a stunt that led to a third-down sack of Brian Brisey.
He was also given a holding penalty.
A patchwork starter at tackle wasn't devastatingly bad.
I don't have enough points.
Rinse and repeat.
Grade: F
defense
They allowed just 14 points (none in the fourth quarter) and were good at holding the Saints to 5-of-15 on third down.
Holding off Alvin Kamara (17-44) was even better, especially with fill-in starting DTs Elijah Chatman and Jordon Riley.
Late in the first quarter, half of the field appeared to have been muscled as Kendre Miller was pushed by Pyle on an 8-yard touchdown run.
Micah McFadden led the way on the inside with 11 tackles, an astonishing five.
Brian Barnes was sacked by Derek Carr for a 9-yard loss.
Barnes was also given an offside penalty.
Rookie Tyler Nubin committed a 26-yard pass interference penalty late in the first half.
Cornerback Tre Hawkins made a leaping interception, yes, an interception, in the third quarter, becoming the Giants' first pick since Week 1.
Kayvon Thibodeau sacked Jake Hoehner late in the fourth quarter.
Grade: A
special teams
Did I have to ask?
This is incredible. Graham Gano's 48-yard field goal was taken off the board when Jake Kubas was called for unnecessary roughness.
This is even more incredible. Gano's 35-yard shot to send the game into overtime was blocked when Bresey jumped over Kvass.
It's just incredible.
In the second quarter, Dane Belton and Anthony Johnson made a head-up stop on a failed Saints fake punt.
Here's the killer. Ihimir Smith-Marsette's 56-yard punt return for a touchdown was negated by Greg Stroman's holding penalty. …Jamie Gillan's first punt was perfect.
The ball went 47 yards and bounced on the 2-yard line.
Gillan then hit a ball that bounced at the 8-yard line.
Casey Rogers blocked Blake Group's 60-yard field goal attempt.
Grade: F
coaching
You can set your clock on consistency of struggle when attacking.
Brian Daboll calls the plays, and the ones he calls usually fail.
He hasn't been able to elevate his team's quarterback play to an acceptable level.
Gano's failure to convert a 54-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter was a sobering moment.
Credit coordinator Shane Bowen has prepared us to play an undermanned group on the front end and secondary.
All the young kids came to play.
Grade: D
