How do you see this one playing out? Our staff writers made their picks for Week 5’s final score in New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants, and most of us are predicting a close one. This is a game between two teams without many wins and a couple of inexperienced quarterbacks between them. Anything could happen on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. Here are our bold predictions:
Saints 23, Giants 20
The Saints have only won once in their last 11 games, and last time was against the Giants. It sucks to see Malik Nabers go down but that’s a big break for New Orleans. I like the Saints in this one, but it’ll be close, and I’m not convinced they have the pass rush to get after Jaxson Dart with Chase Young still on the mend. Give me Saints 23, Giants 20 with a last-minute Blake Grupe field goal preventing overtime. Bold prediction: Spencer Rattler gets his first career win to avoid going 0-11. He’s got to start somewhere. — John Sigler
Giants 24, Saints 14
This has been a rather difficult year for both of these teams, however, the New York Giants have proven to be able to stand up against a competitive team and seal the deal late. On the other side, the New Orleans Saints have not been able to, and that issue predominantly lies in their inability to generate consistent defense OR offense at any given point. They looked good against the Buffalo Bills, but they need to be able to play all 60 minutes, and the Giants seem to have a better handle on how to do that for the time being. Bold prediction: Alvin Kamara has his first game with 100-plus rushing yards since Week 12 of the 2024 season. — Jeremy Trottier
Saints 24, Giants 21
This feels like a ‘now or never’ moment for Spencer Rattler. If he can’t make some downfield plays against this Giants defense, then it’s absolutely time to see what Tyler Shough can do for the offense. This is an equally large test for the New Orleans defense against a New York offense with a rookie quarterback making his first road start and without their best weapon (Malik Nabers). I see the Saints doing just enough on both sides of the ball in what could be an ugly affair. If they don’t, then it’s time to take all those predictions of New Orleans drafting first overall much more seriously. Bold prediction: Rattler hits a touchdown pass of at least 40 yards, and Chris Olave has his first game with 100 receiving yards this season. — Bob Rose
Saints 23, Giants 13
This feels like a must-win game for the Saints — and we’re only in Week 5 of the NFL season. Reports have already surfaced of teams inquiring about several players on this roster, and that chatter will only grow louder if they fall to 0-5. That said, following an encouraging performance in last week’s loss to the Bills, I think this Saints team will fight once again and ultimately get it done. Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller should build off last week’s success with another strong outing, and I believe the offense will finally connect on some big plays downfield against the Giants secondary. Defensively, I expect Brandon Staley to put together a plan that confuses and disrupts rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart in his second career start. I’ll take the Saints by ten. Bold prediction: Chris Olave has his first 100-yard game of the season. — Luke Loffredo
Giants 28, Saints 17
This certainly is one of the last games where it feels like the Saints have a real chance to secure a victory, but it’s hard to pick them to win any games right now. New York has some positive momentum with a new quarterback and a win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The best feeling that New Orleans has had is only losing by two possessions to the Buffalo Bills. Perhaps coming home after what was a hard-fought could be enough to give the Saints the edge, but they have to prove that they can do it on the field first. Bold prediction: Tyler Shough gets called into the game in the second half. Even if it hasn’t been Spencer Rattler’s fault that the season has had such a poor start, this could be where the coaching staff looks to Shough to just try to find anything that works or some extra momentum. If the offense struggles early in this one, I feel like it could be a time where they see what the rookie has.