Anyone who watched the Saints need seven Drew Brees touchdown passes and a facemask penalty on the punter to beat the Giants by a field goal on Sunday would be hard pressed to say that the Giants offense bore much, if any, responsibility for the loss.
Quarterback Eli Manning is the sort who points his finger at mirrors rather than at a defense that offered the same resistance to the Saints that dogs show to sniffing their own rear ends. On Monday, Manning said that the offense fell short in the Superdome.
“We knew we were gonna have to be productive offensively, and as good as we were, we could have been better,” Manning said, via the New York Daily News. “We left some plays out there on the field, left some possessions where we had three-and-outs, and could have even been more productive. As an offense, you look at what you can control, and we did a lot of good things, but it wasn’t enough. We could have been better.”
If there’s one spot where the Giants offense could be accused of falling short, it came before Brad Wing’s fateful punt. The team gained five yards on a three-play drive that stopped the clock with two incompletions and a time out. That left just enough time for the Saints to win the game on Kai Forbath’s field goal, although even that would have been out of question if not for Wing’s penalty.
Otherwise, though, you’re left with the feeling that the Giants are going nowhere but the dumpster this season if the offense has to be better than it was on Sunday to win games.