The Giants lost to the New Orleans Saints, 34-27, after they were unable to complete their wild fourth-quarter comeback at MetLife Stadium.
Here are the takeaways...
-- There wasn't much to smile about for New York in this one, but for most of the first half it had a lead thanks to Tyrone Tracy Jr. scoring the game's first touchdown in the first quarter. With Cam Skattebo losing touches entering this game because of too many fumbles, Najee Harris was the lead back, although no Giants running back ran the ball effectively.
-- Tracy's touchdown actually came through the air after quarterback Jameis Winston threw him a slant pass in the red zone with Tracy doing the rest, evading defenders and diving into the endzone for six. Tracy scored again in the second half (with the game well out of reach) and he could be in line for more carries this season. He led all rushers with six carries and 18 yards with game script forcing the Giants to throw more in the second half.
Devin Singletary had 14 yards on four attempts and a catch for 19 yards while Harris was unable to take advantage of his opportunity and picked up two yards on four carries. Skattebo was effectively benched as he did not touch the ball once.
-- Leading 10-0 in a bit of an ugly game, New York allowed the Saints to finally get on the board with a minute and 17 seconds left before the half on a 58-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, though, kick returner Charlie Jones fumbled the ball and it was recovered by New Orleans near the red zone. Tyler Shough and the Saints got to the two-yard line and on 4th-and-goal with five seconds left they decided to go for it instead of settling for a field goal.
That decision worked out with Shough finding Bryce Lance in the endzone for the receiver's first career TD. Just like that, the game was tied.
-- After halftime, New Orleans started with the ball and quickly scored on a touchdown pass to Alvin Kamara. The 31-yard catch and run score gave the veteran running back more than 5,000 receiving yards as he became the sixth player in NFL history to have 5,000+ rushing yards and 5,000+ receiving yards.
-- The Saints scored again later in the quarter and this time Shough did it with his legs, running it in from the one-yard line. A field goal put New Orleans up 27-10 going into the fourth quarter.
-- Another touchdown for the Saints in the early goings of the fourth quarter meant they had scored 34 unanswered points and were walking away with the win. With the Giants struggling offensively, head coach John Harbaugh benched Winston (14-for-26, 152 yards, one TD, 2 INTs) in favor of J.J. McCarthy who had entered the game earlier briefly for a -2 yard run.
-- Getting his first chance to actually throw the ball, McCarthy aired it out. He did throw an interception but also had a touchdown pass and led the Giants on three separate scoring drives in the fourth quarter for 17 points to get New York back in the game. His touchdown pass went to Isaiah Likely (6-99-1) who also caught a two-point conversion.
McCarthy and the Giants even had a chance to tie or win the game after marching down the field during the final minutes of the game. On 4th-and-1 from the Saints' 14-yard line with five seconds left in the game, New York wasn't able to convert and its wild comeback attempt failed.
Still, McCarthy showed some real promise (11-for-21, 243 yards, one TD, one INT; 26 yards on two carries) and had multiple big plays by finding Malik Nabers who exploded for 165 yards on 12 catches.
Game MVP: TKTK
Highlights
Tyrone Tracy Jr. gets it started for the Giants! https://t.co/RhhYCaNI1i
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) October 18, 2026
Another TD for Tyrone Tracy Jr.! https://t.co/Qa2Vai5dVN
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) October 18, 2026
Isaiah Likely gets in for 2 https://t.co/jqB54Watwk
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) October 18, 2026
J.J McCarthy ➡️ Isaiah Likely for a TD! https://t.co/vjy4J0aoPm
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) October 18, 2026