This has to be one of the more sobering defeats of Sean Payton’s 15 years as the Saints’ head coach. The Giants scored the final 17 points, stunning the Saints 27-21 in overtime in the Caesars Superdome … not the “Domecoming” that anyone in New Orleans hoped for. Everyone was feeling pretty good about the Saints’ defense after the first three weeks, but that group played as much of a role in the outcome as anyone. The Giants did a good job of protecting QB Daniel Jones, who threw for 402 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The pass rush was lacking for the Saints (2-2), especially at key moments in the fourth quarter. The offense was pretty dull outside of a third quarter that saw Taysom Hill break loose for a pair of powerful TD runs. Jameis Winston finally threw for over 150 yards in a game, connecting on 17 of 23 passes for 226 yards and one TD. There were a couple of big plays on offense, but Sunday’s gameplan seemed risk averse on that side of the ball. It remains to be seen if Michael Thomas can make a difference when he returns. Right now, the Saints aren’t good enough on offense to carry the team as it has in the past. When the defense slips up as it did late Sunday, the Saints are going to be in trouble. Where do the Saints go from here? The next game at Washington appears to be a winnable one, but if there’s anything we learned on Sunday it’s that nothing can be taken for granted for the Saints in 2021. | 
