Giants can't keep pace with Brees, Saints; fall 52-49
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - New Orleans natives Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. could only stand helplessly on the Superdome sideline and watch their scintillating homecoming performances go for naught.
Manning threw for a career-best six touchdowns - three to Beckham - but the Giants lost 52-49 Sunday on the Saints' last-second field goal set up by poor punt coverage and a penalty on the penultimate play of the game.
Manning failed to move the Giants for a first down on their last possession in the final minute. The Giants punted with 20 seconds left, allowed a 24-yard return to their own 47 and then Brad Wing's facemask penalty set up Kai Forbath's 50-yard field goal to win it.
"Just kind of ran out of time," Manning said after completing 30 of 41 passes for 350 yards. "Thirty-six seconds - we had to convert on that third-and-5. If anything, just don't give them an opportunity. Sure enough they get a good punt return, a penalty and kick the field goal."
As Forbath's game-winner floated over the cross bar, Giants defensive end Damontre Moore slammed down his helmet on the turf.
Coach Tom Coughlin made it clear that at least some of his thoughts about the loss were better left unsaid.
"I'm not going to give you a lot of adjectives to describe the way I feel about not stopping them," Coughlin said. "We're just going to have to live with the fact we didn't do a good enough job. We didn't stop them enough. We got the lead in the game. We should have won the game. We didn't win the game."
Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw a career-high seven touchdowns, tying an NFL record for scores thrown in a game. His 40 completions and 511 yards passing were a record for New Orleans (4-4).
"It's not about the numbers," Brees said. "That's cool to look at and it goes on the stat sheet, but it's not like I came out today with the intent to break a few records just to shut some people up."
Both Manning and Beckham played high school ball a few miles from the Superdome. Their return home, however, was ruined on the game's final two plays.
New Orleans' Marcus Murphy returned Wing's punt, and a facemask penalty on Wing advanced the ball to New York's 32 with 5 seconds to play.
Officials huddled and talked over the penalty for several minutes, at one point announcing there was no penalty before concluding, in fact, there was an infraction.
"I never could get a word out of them the whole game," Coughlin said of the officials. "They had their backs to me and they were huddled, the officials, and I didn't even know what the penalty was."
Forbath's kick followed, and the Giants lost for only the second time in the past six games.
Coughlin was asked why Wing didn't punt out of bounds to prevent a return.
"It's not as easy as you say (to) punt it out of bounds," Coughlin said. "We punted it for distance. We got some distance. They would have had 5 seconds left had we covered it. It would have been beyond midfield. They would have had one play. That's all fine."
Beckham had 130 yards receiving to go with his three scores, all of which either gave the Giants the lead or tied the game.
But the Superdome remained a house of horrors for Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who in 2012 oversaw a Saints defense that gave up an NFL-record 7,042 yards. The Giants entered the game ranked 29th, giving up 401.7 yards per game. The Saints finished with 614 offensive yards.
"I've played here before and when Drew plays like Drew plays at home, he's almost unstoppable," said Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas, a former Saint.
After going down 42-28 on Brees' sixth touchdown pass of the game, the Giants responded with two straight scoring drives to tie it.
The Saints then drove across the 50, but Snead fumbled on a vicious hit by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who had intercepted Brees earlier in the game. The ball bounced into the arms of Trumaine McBride, who sprinted 63 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
Brees then led the Saints on a 14-play, 85-yard game-tying drive that was capped when he found C.J. Spiller open for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Notes: Giants tight end Larry Donnell left the game with what Coughlin termed neck spasms.
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