Jones, Barkley lead Giants past Saints, 27-21 in OT

By BRETT MARTEL

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saquon Barkley ran for a 6-yard touchdown in overtime after Daniel Jones passed for a career-high 402 yards, and the New York Giants rallied for their first win of the season, 27-21 over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The Saints, playing in New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Ida struck on Aug. 29, led 21-10 in the fourth quarter before Jones and Barkley combined for a 54-yard touchdown pass that ignited the Giants’ comeback.

Jones ran for a 2-point conversion to make it 21-18, then led the Giants to Graham Gano’s tying, 48-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in regulation.

After New York won the coin toss to start the extra period, Jones completed five passes for 67 yards to set up Barkley’s winning score, giving the Giants (1-3) a last-play victory for a change after they’d lost on game-ending field goals the previous two weeks.

Jameis Winston passed for 226 yards and a touchdown, and reserve quarterback Taysom Hill ran for two touchdowns for the Saints (2-2), who wilted in front of nearly 70,000 fans in the first game played in the Caesars Superdome without restrictions on crowd size since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The club spent the first three weeks of the regular season operating out of the Dallas area and moved its Sept. 12 home opener against Green Bay to Jacksonville.

Hill, whom the Saints employ as a change-of-pace, read-option QB, gave the Saints their first lead at 14-7 in the third quarter on a relentless, pounding, spinning, tackle-breaking run during which he was hit five times before crossing the goal line.

Jones marched the Giants right back down the field, but the Saints’ defense stiffened after New York had a first-and-goal at the 3 to force Gano’s short field goal that made it 14-10.

Hill’s 8-yard touchdown run put the Saints up by 11 early in the fourth quarter

After a scoreless first 20 minutes that included missed field goals by each team, the Giants struck first on a long passing play that became the subject of a scoring change after the fact.

Jones found newly activated receiver John Ross down the middle of the field for a 52-yard touchdown. The ball came loose as Ross was tackled at the goal line, but the nearest official gave the touchdown signal and Saints defenders didn’t pursue the loose ball while Ross raced over to pick it up.

Several minutes later, the NFL announced that the play was officially ruled a forced fumble by Saints safety Marcus Williams that was recovered by Ross, taking the touchdown pass away from Jones but leaving the Giants’ 7-0 lead intact.

The Saints responded on their next series with Winston’s 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Juwan Johnson, capping a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ran out most of the last 8:51 of the second quarter.

INJURIES

Giants: Safety Jabrill Peppers left the game with a hamstring injury.

Saints: Running back Tony Jones Jr. was carted off the field in the second quarter with an ankle injury.

UP NEXT

Giants: Visit Dallas next Sunday.

Saints: Visit Washington next Sunday.

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Follow Brett Martel at http://twitter.com/brettmartel

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