Winners and losers: 3 takeaways from Saints' lackluster, 14-11 win at New York Giants

The New Orleans Saints won their third game out of four on Sunday, 14-11 at the Giants, since special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi replaced fired head coach Dennis Allen on an interim basis.

The Saints (5-8) clung to the slimmest of playoff possibilities going into their home game against Washington (8-5) at the Superdome Sunday. But they had that sad-sack look about them from Allen's 2-7 start as they managed to barely beat a team that is now 2-11.

In fact, it took a blocked 35-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds by defensive tackle Bryan Bresee to avoid overtime. In the end, it was a win, and the defense played well, but the offense sputtered profusely.

And the Saints may have lost starting quarterback Derek Carr in the process to a broken left hand and concussion late in the game. Rizzi had not ruled him out as of Tuesday morning, but the Saints did sign quarterback Ben DiNucci on Tuesday.

DiNucci, 28, was released by Buffalo last August and was previously with Denver on the practice squad in 2023. A seventh-round pick by Dallas in 2020 out of James Madison, DiNucci started one game and played in three that season for the Cowboys. He then found himself in the XFL briefly.

DiNucci is expected to add depth behind second-year quarterback Jake Haener and rookie Spencer Rattler, who are competing for the starting job this week should Carr not be able to go.

Winner: Saints take 2nd one-score game out of 3 under Rizzi

Before Rizzi took over, the Saints lost three of three one-score games during their seven-game losing streak after a 2-0 start that got Allen fired. Since the Rizzi "revival," New Orleans has won two of three such affairs - 20-17 over Atlanta in Rizzi's debut on Nov. 10 and 14-11 over the Giants Sunday after a 21-14 loss to the Rams on Dec. 1.

"The good news is we left a road game outdoors, elements, all that stuff with a win," Rizzi said. "We have found a way to win two one-score games in the last four weeks. That's something we hadn't done well in the beginning of the season."

But it was against a team that has lost eight straight.

"I've heard the narrative, 'Well, you didn't beat a good team - blah, blah, blah,'" Rizzi said. "The Chiefs (12-1) find a way to win one-score games every week. We found a way to win. It was a blocked field goa. That's what we needed to win the game. We won the game."

Winner: Defense dominated for the most part

The Saints defense held Giants' quarterback Drew Lock to 0-for-8 passing in the early going as the Saints took a 7-3 halftime lead. He finished 21 of 49 (.428 completion percentage) for 227 yards with an interception by linebacker Demario Davis with under two minutes to play.

New Orleans forced eight punts and basically stuffed the Giants until two of their last three drives - 82 yards for a touchdown with a two-point conversion for the 14-11 deficit and 56 yards in 10 plays to the blocked field goal. Lock was the Giants' leading rusher with 59 yards on five carries. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. gained just 45 yards on 16 carries.

"I thought our defense played extremely well for three-and-a-half quarters," Rizzi said. "Their first two possessions of the second half were punt, punt."

Loser: Running game suffered

New Orleans came in with its original starting offensive line for the first time since week three and one of the top running backs in the NFL in Alvin Kamara. But the Saints finished with 92 yards on 33 carries for a 2.7-yard average. Kamara managed only 44 yards on 17 rushes (2.6-yard average). He did not look like one of the NFL leaders in yards from scrimmage with 1,423.

Kendre Miller again showed some flashes with 32 yards on 10 carries and a physical, 8-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Derek Carr hit 20 of 31 passes for 219 yards and an 11-yard TD to tight end Juwan Johnson for a 14-3 lead late in the third quarter, but he couldn't put the game away, though he got hurt trying to do so. And The Saints punted seven times with a trio of three-and-outs.

"We had too many drives where we had five plays or less (eight)," Rizzi said. "We've got to do a better job of sustaining drives."