Saints running back Alvin Kamara reached a career milestone while putting his team in the lead for the first time on Sunday.
Kamara took a short pass from Tyler Shough and carved through the Giants defense for a 31-yard touchdown. The score capped the first possession of the second half and put the Saints up 17-10 with 12:21 to play in the third quarter.
The catch was Kamara’s first of the day and it moved him over 5,000 receiving yards for his career. Per the Fox broadcast, he’s the sixth player in NFL history with 5,000-plus rushing yards as well as 5,000-plus receiving yards.
The Giants had a 10-0 lead in the first half, but they’ll now have to play catchup to avoid falling to 3-2-1 on the season.
Giants Clips
The Saints didn’t do much to make owner Gayle Benson change her mind about the team for the first 25 minutes or so on Sunday, but Benson has to be feeling good about how her team wrapped up the first half at MetLife Stadium.
A Daniel Carlson field goal got the Saints on the board with just over a minute to play in the half and Giants kickoff returner Charlie Jones fumbled the ensuing kick to give New Orleans the ball back in scoring position. Quarterback Tyler Shough moved them inside the 5-yard-line with a 25-yard run and then found rookie wideout Bryce Lance with a two-yard pass with one second to play.
That made it 10-10 at halftime and the Saints will get a chance to keep things rolling to start the third quarter.
Shough is 8-of-19 for 58 yards, so he’ll need to find a better groove for the Saints to build on their strong finish to the half. Jameis Winston is 9-of-16 for 99 yards, but he’s been sacked three times and the running game is doing little to balance out the offense.
Cam Skattebo has not carried the ball at all as the Giants have gone with Tyrone Tracy, Najee Harris, and Devin Singletary instead. They have eight carries for nine yards and J.J. McCarthy lost a couple of yards when the Giants sent him in to run the zone read.
The Giants are out to an early lead over the Saints.
Jameis Winston evaded pressure long enough to find running back Tyrone Tracy on a third down and Tracy found open running room for a 17-yard touchdown. The extra point put the home team up 7-0 with just over five minutes left to play in the first quarter.
Tracy is one of three Giants running backs to have a touch through the first two drives, but Cam Skattebo is not one of them. A report on Sunday morning indicated Najee Harris would see more time at the expense of Skattebo, who has four fumbles this season, but the Giants have gone with a committee approach in the early portion of the game.
They also got a 20-yard run by wide receiver Darnell Mooney and a three-yard sneak by Winston on a fourth down during the scoring drive.
The Jameis Winston Experience is the ultimate amusement park ride. Currently, Giants fans are getting more thrills than chills from Winston’s performance.
Winston had no touchdown passes in his first two games after replacing starter Jaxson Dart. In the last two games, Winston has six total touchdown passes against two interceptions.
He has thrown three touchdown passes against the Cardinals and three against the Commanders. If he does it again today against the Saints, Winston will tie the longest streak in franchise history of consecutive games with three or more touchdown passes.
Via NBC Sports research, Y.A. Tittle did it four times. Fran Tarkenton did it once, in 1967. And Eli Manning did it once, in 2011.
One player who can help Winston get there is receiver Malik Nabers. He has 156 catches in 24 career games. With four catches, he’ll pass Rams receiver Puka Nacua for the second-most catches in a player’s first 25 games. Former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. holds the record with 176 catches in 25 games.
Signs have pointed to Bears quarterback Caleb Williams making his return from a hamstring injury all week and it became official on Sunday morning.
Williams is active for the team’s 1 p.m. ET game in Atlanta. Williams missed three games after being injured in Chicago’s Week 2 loss to the Vikings and was listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report, but he was a full participant in practice all this week and he posted a comeback-themed video to social media on Friday night.
Michael Penix will be the other quarterback on Sunday. Penix was forced out of last weekend’s loss to the Ravens with injured ribs, but he was also a full practice participant and he had no injury designation.
Bears at Falcons
Bears: RB Kyle Monangai, CB Tyrique Stevenson, LB T.J. Edwards, LB Keyshaun Elliott, OL Jordan McFadden, DL Jayden Loving, QB Case Keenum
Falcons: QB Cooper Rush, QB Jack Strand, CB C.J. Henderson, DB Malcolm DeWalt, LB Christian Harris, OL Ethan Onianwa, DE Drake Jackson
Ravens at Browns
Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson, C Cam Jurgens, DT Broderick Washington, TE Matt Hibner, WR Elijah Sarratt, G Andrew Vorhees, S K’Von Wallace
Browns: RB Quinshon Judkins, QB Taylen Green, CB Noah Igbinoghene, DT Mike Hall Jr., C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins, DT Mason Graham
Titans at Colts
Titans: CB Alontae Taylor, S Kevin Winston, OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, RB Nick Singleton, DL Jackie Marshall, DL Jordan Elliott
Colts: LB Jaylon Carlies, WR Ashton Dulin, QB Riley Leonard, G Dalton Tucker, TE Tyler Warren
Jets at Patriots
Jets: RB Breece Hall, DL Jack Heflin, WR Adonai Mitchell, LB Joseph Ossai, G Dylan Parham, CB Nahshon Wright
Patriots: QB Behren Morton, TE Tanner Arkin, OT Dametrious Crownover, CB Carlton Davis, CB Karon Prunty, CB Channing Canada
Saints at Giants
Saints: QB Zach Wilson, LB Anfernee Jennings, S Mike Reid, LB Kaden Elliss, DL Nathan Shepherd, DL John Ridgeway
Giants: CB Colton Hood, QB Jake Haener, S Tyler Nubin, OT Jermaine Eluemunor, TE Theo Johnson, DL C.J. Okoye
Panthers at Eagles
Panthers: OT Monroe Freeling, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, RB AJ Dillon, G Torricelli Simpkins, OT Albert Reese, DT TeRah Edwards
Eagles: WR Hollywood Brown, QB Joe Milton, RB Saquon Barkley, DB Michael Carter, LB A.J. Epenesa, LB Jalyx Hunt
Steelers at Buccaneers
Steelers: WR Ben Skowronek, QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, RB Eli Heidenreich, CB Terell Smith, DL Kevin Jobity
Buccaneers: DL DeMonte Capehart, G Luke Haggard, QB Baker Mayfield, CB Benjamin Morrison, G Billy Schrauth, RB Sean Tucker, S Antoine Winfield Jr.
Cam Skattebo has been the Giants’ top running back through the first five weeks of the regular season, but a report on Sunday morning indicates that could change against the Saints in Week 6.
Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports that the Giants are expected to give Najee Harris a larger role in their backfield. Skattebo is expected to remain in the team’s plans, but his issues holding onto the ball have led the team to make a change in how time is allotted.
Skattebo has fumbled four times this season, including last Sunday’s giveaway in overtime during their tie with the Commanders. Skattebo has 81 carries for 294 yards and a touchdown overall.
Harris has 27 carries for 97 yards so far this year.
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave was back on the practice field Friday, but his status for Sunday’s road game against the Giants remains up in the air.
Olave missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday due to an illness, so his return for a limited workout on Friday would seem to have him pointing in the right direction to play in Week 6. Olave has 39 catches for 537 yards and a touchdown through the first five weeks of the season.
Running back Alvin Kamara (back) is also listed as questionable. He was limited in practice all week.
Defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd (illness), defensive back Lorenzo Styles (knee), and long snapper Zach Wood are the other questionable players for New Orleans. Linebackers Kaden Elliss (calf) and Anfernee Jennings (knee) have been ruled out.
The Giants got linebacker Abdul Carter back on the practice field on Friday.
Carter missed a pair of practices with a calf injury before returning as a limited participant to close out the week. The Giants will wait to make a final call on his status against the Saints after listing him as questionable.
Carter has 14 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble this season.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf) also worked on a limited basis on Friday. They have questionable designations as well.
The Giants ruled cornerback Colton Hood (concussion), tight end Theo Johnson (neck), and safety Tyler Nubin (neck) out for Week 6.
When a soldier is captured by the enemy, he knows to say only three things: Name, rank, and serial number. As to the Commanders’ overtime clock debacle against the Giants, a similar three-step formula has emerged.
It’s my responsibility. I take accountability. It won’t happen again.
Offensive coordinator David Blough completed the fault trifecta on Friday, in his first comments to reporters since the Week 5 game ended in a tie, thanks to a stunning failure to find a way to attempt a field goal in the final 55 seconds of the extra 10-minute period, Blough repeatedly expressed a very basic, general message of responsibility, acceptance of accountability, and determination to not let the situation repeat itself.
The reporters tried to get more (any) details from him about how it transpired. He continued to retreat to a combination of words and phrases that eventually seemed to be the product of talking points that had been prepared and memorized at some point this week.
Ultimately, there has been no real insight from coach Dan Quinn, quarterback Jayden Daniels, or Blough into how it happened. And none of them has been asked the one question that may have yielded the most revealing answer: Did the quarterback and the rest of the offense realize that the game would end when the 10 minutes expired?
At this point, with a new slate of Sunday games looming (and with the Commanders facing the 49ers on Monday night), the incident will become a footnote to the 2026 season. And we’ll never know precisely how it happened.
We know what happened — they screwed up, royally. But we’ll never know how it happened, why it happened, and, ultimately, who bears the bulk of the blame.
Yes, it’s everyone. Still, there’s someone who deserves more blame than others. And there’s a specific explanation (beyond “shit happens”) as to how it came to be. That explanation, through multiple press availabilities, never emerged.
The Saints practiced without wide receiver Chris Olave for the second straight day on Thursday.
Olave has missed both days of practice with an illness. The Saints will issue injury designations for Sunday’s road game against the Giants on Friday.
Linebacker Kaden Elliss (calf), defensive lineman Damon Godchaux (rest), linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee), and defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd (illness) were also out of practice.
Defensive lineman Vernon Broughton (illness), running back Alvin Kamara (back), and defensive back Lorenzo Styles (knee) were limited participants. Quarterback Tyler Shough (left hand), linebacker Tyree Wilson (ankle), long snapper Zach Wood (calf), defensive lineman Colby Wooden (toe), and guard Jeremiah Wright (concussion) were listed as full participants.
