New Orleans Ruined Jameis Winston’s Reunion Before J.J. McCarthy Nearly Stole the Show

The New Orleans Saints (2-4) survived a furious fourth-quarter comeback by the New York Giants (3-2-1), escaping MetLife Stadium with a 34-27 victory on October 18, 2026, after building a 24-point lead behind Tyler Shough’s four total touchdowns.

Quarter-by-Quarter

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NO 0 10 17 7 34
NYG 7 3 0 17 27

Jameis Winston’s reunion with his former team started with a 10-0 Giants lead, but New Orleans quickly turned the afternoon upside down. Daniel Carlson’s 58-yard field goal got the Saints on the board before Isaiah Stalbird forced a kickoff fumble recovered by Oscar Delp, setting up Tyler Shough’s touchdown to Bryce Lance just before halftime. Playing through broken bones in his non-throwing hand, Shough then connected with Alvin Kamara for a 31-yard touchdown, scored on a quarterback sneak and found Chris Olave for another score as New Orleans erupted for 34 unanswered points. Shough finished with only 144 passing yards but accounted for four touchdowns without an interception. Kendre Miller rushed for 70 yards, while Martin Emerson Jr. intercepted Winston twice as the Saints’ defense recorded five sacks and three interceptions.

Winston completed 14 of 26 passes for 152 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions before John Harbaugh benched him with New York trailing 34-10. J.J. McCarthy initially threw an interception himself, but suddenly brought the Giants back to life, producing 17 unanswered points and finishing with 243 passing yards and a touchdown to Isaiah Likely. Malik Nabers dominated with 12 catches for 165 yards, Likely added 99, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. scored twice. Despite outgaining New Orleans 461-319, New York couldn’t overcome four turnovers, 10 penalties and injuries to Andrew Thomas and Greg Newsome II. McCarthy eventually reached the Saints’ 14-yard line with another chance to tie, but his fourth-down throw to Likely fell incomplete. New Orleans escaped with its second victory, although nearly surrendering a 24-point fourth-quarter lead gave Kellen Moore plenty to address.

Postgame Statistical Breakdown

Team Stats

Stat New Orleans Saints New York Giants
Final Score 34 27
Total Offensive Yards 319 461
Passing Yards 144 377
Rushing Yards 175 84
Total Plays 68 72
Yards Per Play 4.7 6.4
First Downs 18 23
Third Downs 4-15 4-14
Third-Down % 26.7% 28.6%
Fourth Downs 1-1 1-2
Passing TDs 3 2
Rushing TDs 1 1
Total Offensive TDs 4 3
Turnovers 1 4
Interceptions Thrown 0 3
Fumbles Lost 1 1
Sacks Allowed 0 5
Penalties 7 10
Penalty Yards 52 73
Time of Possession 31:02 28:58

Passing

New Orleans Saints

  1. Tyler Shough — 16/30, 53.3%, 144 YDS, 3 TD, 0 INT, 4.8 YPA, 0 SACK, 99.9 RTG

New York Giants

  1. J.J. McCarthy — 11/21, 52.4%, 243 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT, 11.6 YPA, 1 SACK, 90.0 RTG

Rushing

New Orleans Saints

  1. Kendre Miller — 20 CAR, 70 YDS, 3.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 11
  2. CJ Donaldson — 6 CAR, 39 YDS, 6.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 17, 1 FUM

New York Giants

  1. J.J. McCarthy — 2 CAR, 26 YDS, 13.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 28
  2. Darnell Mooney — 1 CAR, 20 YDS, 20.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 20

Receiving

New Orleans Saints

  1. Chris Olave — 4 REC, 7 TGT, 43 YDS, 10.8 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 18
  2. Devaughn Vele — 3 REC, 6 TGT, 42 YDS, 14.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 18
  3. Alvin Kamara — 2 REC, 4 TGT, 35 YDS, 17.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 31
  4. Oscar Delp — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 10 YDS, 5.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 8
  5. Bryce Lance — 2 REC, 4 TGT, 9 YDS, 4.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 7

New York Giants

  1. Malik Nabers — 12 REC, 15 TGT, 165 YDS, 13.8 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 46
  2. Isaiah Likely — 6 REC, 11 TGT, 99 YDS, 16.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 24
  3. Charlie Jones — 2 REC, 3 TGT, 66 YDS, 33.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 49
  4. Tyrone Tracy Jr. — 2 REC, 3 TGT, 27 YDS, 13.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 17
  5. Malachi Fields — 2 REC, 8 TGT, 19 YDS, 9.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 11

Scoring Plays

Qtr Clock Team Play Score
Q1 5:14 New York Giants Tyrone Tracy Jr. 17-yard pass from Jameis Winston (Dominic Zvada kick) NO 0, NYG 7
Q2 2:27 New York Giants Dominic Zvada 34-yard field goal NO 0, NYG 10
Q2 1:18 New Orleans Saints Daniel Carlson 58-yard field goal NO 3, NYG 10
Q2 0:01 New Orleans Saints Bryce Lance 2-yard pass from Tyler Shough (Daniel Carlson kick) NO 10, NYG 10
Q3 12:21 New Orleans Saints Alvin Kamara 31-yard pass from Tyler Shough (Daniel Carlson kick) NO 17, NYG 10
Q3 5:43 New Orleans Saints Tyler Shough 1-yard run (Daniel Carlson kick) NO 24, NYG 10
Q3 1:12 New Orleans Saints Daniel Carlson 51-yard field goal NO 27, NYG 10
Q4 11:31 New Orleans Saints Chris Olave 18-yard pass from Tyler Shough (Daniel Carlson kick) NO 34, NYG 10
Q4 7:00 New York Giants Tyrone Tracy Jr. 5-yard run (J.J. McCarthy pass to Isaiah Likely for Two-Point Conversion) NO 34, NYG 18
Q4 5:06 New York Giants Isaiah Likely 24-yard pass from J.J. McCarthy (two-point pass failed) NO 34, NYG 24
Q4 2:04 New York Giants Dominic Zvada 41-yard field goal NO 34, NYG 27

Defense

New Orleans Saints

  1. Martin Emerson Jr. — 7 TOT, 7 SOLO, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 19 INT YDS, 4 PD
  2. Pete Werner — 11 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH, 1 PD
  3. Chase Young — 3 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1.5 SACK, 3 QBH, 1 PD
  4. Carl Granderson — 5 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1.5 SACK, 2 QBH
  5. Julian Blackmon — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 INT, 21 INT YDS, 1 PD
  6. Quincy Riley — 6 TOT, 6 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 PD
  7. Colby Wooden — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  8. Cameron Jordan — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 QBH
  9. Danny Stutsman — 4 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 PD
  10. Justin Reid — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO

New York Giants

  1. Jevon Holland — 9 TOT, 6 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 PD
  2. Arvell Reese — 6 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 FR
  3. DJ Reader — 7 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 TFL
  4. Tremaine Edmunds — 9 TOT, 5 SOLO
  5. Deonte Banks — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 PD
  6. Ar’Darius Washington — 5 TOT, 5 SOLO
  7. Kayvon Thibodeaux — 5 TOT, 2 SOLO
  8. Greg Newsome II — 3 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 PD
  9. Dru Phillips — 4 TOT, 3 SOLO
  10. Jason Pinnock — 2 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 PD

Kick Returns

New Orleans Saints

  1. Barion Brown — 2 KR, 66 YDS, 33.0 AVG, LONG 41, 0 TD

New York Giants

  1. Charlie Jones — 3 KR, 67 YDS, 22.3 AVG, LONG 26, 0 TD

Punt Returns

New Orleans Saints

  1. Barion Brown — 5 PR, 68 YDS, 13.6 AVG, LONG 23, 0 TD

New York Giants

  1. Charlie Jones — 4 PR, 33 YDS, 8.3 AVG, LONG 10, 0 TD
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