The New Orleans Saints changed head coaches at midseason to try and turn things around.
The New York Giants changed quarterbacks at midseason to try and turn things around.
The Saints (4-8) and the Giants (2-10) are still trying to get on track as they meet Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J.
New York has lost seven games in a row, has the worst record in the NFL and has been mathematically eliminated from the playoff race. New Orleans won its first two games under interim head coach Darren Rizzi before losing to the visiting Los Angeles Rams 21-14 last week.
The Saints must prevail in each of their last five games in order to finish with a winning record, but Rizzi is hopeful because no one has taken control of the NFC South.
“There’s something to be said when you’re still playing for something,” Rizzi said. “It would be a lot different if we’re going out there with zero chance as opposed to a chance.
“The big picture is we still have the opportunity to potentially win our division, but that doesn’t happen unless we win this game this week.”
The Saints have endured a series of injuries to key players, one of the most significant being the season-ending knee injury that Taysom Hill sustained against the Rams.
Hill is a team captain, special teams leader, backup quarterback, running back, fullback and tight end.
“We’ve done a good job these last few weeks of getting a lot of different guys involved, and that’s going to have to remain the same,” Rizzi said. “It’s going to take multiple people to fill that role because he’s so multi-dimensional.”
The Giants experienced a significant loss when star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence sustained an elbow injury in a 27-20 defeat at Dallas on Thanksgiving that landed him on injured reserve.
“The reality of it is we’re going to miss him,” New York linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “But this is going to be a great test and a great evaluation on everybody around him. Dex can’t be our excuse on why we’re playing well or why we’re not playing well.”
New York showed some improvement against the Cowboys as Drew Lock, who made his first start of the season at quarterback, drove his team to a touchdown on the first possession of the game, producing the Giants’ first lead in seven games.
Giants coach Brian Daboll benched Daniel Jones last month, and the organization granted his wish to be released. Tommy DeVito replaced Jones for a 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before Daboll turned to Lock.
Daboll announced Wednesday that Lock, who completed 21 of 32 passes for 178 yards with an interception, rushed four times for 57 yards and a TD and lost a fumble against the Cowboys, would start Sunday.
“I’d say Drew did some good stuff in Dallas,” Daboll said. “He made some good plays, some plays with his feet, stepping up when getting pressure and keeping his eyes downfield. He also did some things that he can improve on. Have to correct some of those turnovers.”
Daboll described the status of five starters who missed practice on Wednesday — left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (quad), right tackle Evan Neal (hip), defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck), cornerback Deonte Banks (rib), inside linebacker Bobby Okereke (back) — as “week to week.”
The Saints’ starting guards — Cesar Ruiz (concussion) and Nick Saldiveri (knee) — sat out practice on Wednesday. Rizzi said starting center Erik McCoy (groin) was on track to play Sunday.
–Field Level Media