Part of that work involved the usual emphasis on forcing turnovers, which helped produce unusual results. New Orleans forced a turnover on five consecutive offensive possessions by New York — fumble recovery by safety Jonas Sanker, fumble recovery by Jordan, fumble recovery by safety Jordan Howden, and two interceptions from cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry — and became the first team to accomplish that since Kansas City on Sept. 25, 2016.
"We've been talking about how we need to eliminate penalties, we've been talking about how we need to force turnovers," Jordan said. "Are we starting to eliminate penalties? I think we had two or three pre-snap that we wish we could have back.
"(Turnovers were) huge. We've been stuck at that '1' number, we finally broke that. Plus-5 in the turnover ratio, and that's how you get a win."
The Saints buckled down after a rocky opening.
After winning the coin flip and opting to receive, New Orleans failed on its fast-start hopes by going three-and-out — including a pre-snap penalty.
New York (1-4) promptly drove 59 yards in eight plays for a touchdown, finishing on Jaxson Dart's 1-yard pass to Theo Johnson.
The Saints responded with a 14-play, 70-yard drive that ended on Blake Grupe's 28-yard field goal, but the Giants countered and one-upped with a 70-yard drive that resulted in another Dart to Johnson hookup, from 15 yards, to give New York a 14-3 lead.
But from there, the Saints went on a 23-0 run to finish off New York and its rookie quarterback, who posted his first NFL win last week.
Grupe kicked a 53-yard field goal, and after the defense forced a punt for its first stop of the game, Rattler (20 of 30 for 225 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions) connected with receiver Rashid Shaheed on a perfectly-executed, 87-yard touchdown throw.
It was New Orleans' longest play from scrimmage this season, the fifth-longest in franchise history, the longest completion for Rattler, the longest reception for Shaheed and the 11th time since 2022 that Shaheed has posted a touchdown of 40 yards or more — third-most in the NFL during that span.