New Orleans gets back in the win column.
NFL.com – 23 (+1)
“The New Orleans Saints have won three of the past four games, including Sunday’s matchup with the Giants, and even so, their playoff chances sit at less than one percent right now, so there’s no real point in trying to bring Derek Carr back before the end of the season after he suffered a break in his left hand. They’re already missing Taysom Hill, in whose absence they struggled to move the ball consistently Sunday; the difference in the Saints’ offense with and without Hill has been stark at times. Darren Rizzi, fighting to turn the interim tag into a full-time gig, might not be thrilled with the Carr development, but the Saints probably need to figure out as much as they can about Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler before the offseason. Then again, it’s hard to imagine this offense getting much better without Carr and the other injured pieces, including receivers Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave. The run game was pretty disappointing Sunday. New Orleans stuck with it but had little success against the Giants defense, despite Dexter Lawrence being out.”
USA Today – 21 (=)
“It took a crazy-athletic play by Bryan Bresee for the Saints to avoid OT against Drew Lock and the Giants. Derek Carr is lost with a fracture of his left hand. The Saints are only two games behind the Bucs and one behind the faltering Falcons, but no Carr means the dreams of a division title may have stalled.”
Bleacher Report – 23 (+2)
“At 5-8, the Saints have the slimmest of postseason hopes, even after downing the putrid Giants Sunday. Those hopes were likely dashed in Week 14 when quarterback Derek Carr suffered a fractured hand that will likely sideline him for the rest of the season.
But while addressing reporters after the game, Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said that his team is going to keep fighting until the season comes to an end.
“We’re down here at the end of the year. It’s the middle of December already,” Rizzi said. “When you’re playing games that still matter and still count and still have a chance to affect the final outcome, that’s a big deal. So here we are with four to go and as I just said to the guys, that’s why we practice with a purpose. We go through the week with a purpose because we’re still playing. We’re still in contention. Trying not to be a big-picture guy, but it’s always nice to have that out there so you can focus on the now and not worry about that there’s still that opportunity for us.”
It’s an admirable mentality, but frankly, all the Saints are really doing right now is costing themselves a draft position. This is a bad team playing out the string—whether they realize it or not.
Analyst’s Take
The Saints’ offense may be down to Alvin Kamara and second- and third-stringers by the end of the season. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi told reporters that quarterback Derek Carr injured his left hand and may go into concussion protocol. Credit to Rizzi, though, he squeezes every ounce of talent and effort out of his injury-riddled roster. The Saints are 3-1 on his watch. — Moton”
CBS Sports – 23 (+1)
“Derek Carr is now likely out with an injury, which puts the exclamation point on a terrible season all the way around for this team. They have battled for Darren Rizzi, which is a good thing.”
Sports Illustrated – 24 (=)
“A 14–11 victory in which: Darren Rizzi nearly murdered his punter; a Saints player was body-slammed causing a field goal to be taken off the board; and Derek Carr broke his hand on a wildly confusing bootleg run.”