The New York Giants’ defense has played winning football in four of the first five weeks of the season, but it hasn’t started well in many contests.
That could be a problem against a New Orleans Saints offense that can score on any team in the league. The Giants shouldn’t rely on in-game adjustments to succeed.
The Giants have to do a better job of entering the game with a plan of action that keeps points off the board.
Let’s take a look at the New Orleans Saints’ offense and what Big Blue fans should expect from them on Sunday.
Base Personnel
Like many teams in the NFL, the Saints’ base personnel is 11 personnel, utilizing a tight end and three receivers.
Under second-year head coach Kellen Moore and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, 11 personnel accounts for approximately 60% of the Saints’ offensive snaps.
In addition to 11 personnel, they use 12 personnel for more run-heavy or bigger-protection plays, using it 25-30% of the time. This gives them two-way run-pass options.
They also use situational 21 personnel, bringing in an extra running back instead of a tight end. Under center, they use split-back and offset sets to create matchup problems between linebackers and running backs.
Rushing Offense
The Saints ranked 28th in rushing in 2025, and they’re even worse this season. They average only 81.8 yards per game and a paltry 3.5 yards per carry.
They average a rushing touchdown per game, which isn’t bad, but it doesn’t reflect the explosive nature of the New Orleans rushing attack in past seasons. They have been a running back-by-committee unit, and no one player has stood out so far.
They are a wide-zone, outside-zone rushing team that wants to get the defense flowing east and west so they can find open cutback lanes.
They will also utilize some gap schemes and pull concepts to complement their wide zone. They run a ton of pre-snap motion and use condensed split formations to help them attack the perimeter.
Passing Offense
The passing offense looked promising early in the season, but over six games, quarterback Tyler Shough’s performance looks eerily similar to that of 2025’s regular-season starter, Spencer Rattler.
They have explosive elements to attack and legitimate receiving weapons. Still, their rankings suggest a team that passes the ball a lot but produces only a mid-tier performance.
They rank second in the NFL in passing attempts per game at 41 while averaging only 240 yards per game. Their 6.3 yards per attempt ranks 25th in the league. Although they are tied for ninth with nine touchdowns, they have thrown five interceptions and have been sacked 13 times.
The Saints’ passing tree comes directly off their wide-zone mesh, letting them run action with rollouts, sprintouts, and naked boots to give Shough half-field reads, high-low reads, and flood concepts that work the sidelines.
Best Offensive Lineman
Center Erik McCoy remains the anchor of this offensive line. He is a top-five center in the league, and he’s adept at setting protection and being a factor whenever the team wants to run downhill on the interior.
He is the catalyst for success on the offensive line. When healthy, he boosts the entire unit; when he struggles, the entire unit struggles.
Most Explosive Offensive Weapons
Chris Olave is their clear-cut No. 1 weapon on offense. He’s one of the best wide receivers in the game because he can be explosive at every level.
He combines elite separation with top-tier route manipulation, and he has a smooth second gear to attack intermediate openings. He knows when to run through or sit down in lanes, but he can also blow the top off a defense.
Alvin Kamara may not be what he used to be, but he is still a red-zone threat with a nose for the end zone.
Tight end Juwan Johnson is in a similar vein to the Giants’ Isaiah Likely: a big, athletic slot guy who can be a matchup problem for defenses.
Injuries
Receiver Chris Olave enters the weekend having missed practices due to an acute illness. He should be able to go, but he may not have the stamina he normally has when healthy.
Running back Alvin Kamara is dealing with a back issue that has limited him in practice throughout the past few weeks.
Offensive guard Jeremiah Wright is in the concussion protocol and has been working through it. He progressed back to full participation but has not been fully cleared yet.
Tyler Shough has an injury to his non-throwing hand. He’s been a full participant in practice, but it is worth noting. Let’s see whether it affects how he holds the ball.
Giants Defensive Game Plan
What the Saints can do through the air with their multi-level passing attack would be a problem for the Giants if not for the one-dimensional nature of their offense. Because the Saints don’t offer much resistance as a downhill rushing attack, their outside-zone and wide-zone plays play right into the Giants’ athleticism.
The Giants need to keep the Saints throwing the ball because they’ve been very good at taking the ball away and creating pressure to make the quarterback uncomfortable.
They should turn Shough into the primary rushing option, since he’s athletic enough to do it but not explosive enough to hit the Giants for home runs like Jayden Daniels did last week.
Ultimately, if the Saints are forced into a dink-and-dunk offense, they will eventually make mistakes and let the Giants’ defense exploit them.
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