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| Eli Manning and Drew Brees greet each other after their game where they threw a combined 13 touchdown passes. |
In Week 8 of the 2015 NFL season, the New York Giants traveled down to the Crescent City to take on the New Orleans Saints in a game that would feature 101 points scored and 1,024 yards of offense between the two teams.
The Saints came into the game with a 3-4 record as New Orleans got off to a 1-4 start to the 2015 season as the New Orleans defense had given up a total of 143 points over their first five games of the season.
The Saints would win their next two games to improve to 3-4 thanks to their future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who was in his 10th season as the New Orleans starting quarterback, having led the Saints to a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.
With head coach Sean Payton, the Saints hoped they could return to the postseason after missing out the previous year as they finished the season with a 7-9 record which was only the second losing season for the Payton/Brees era which began in 2006.
The Saints' opponents, the Giants, came into the game with a 4-3 record as New York also had defensive issues as "Big Blue" had given up 156 points over their first seven games of the season.
The pressure was on head coach Tom Coughlin, who despite leading the Giants to two Super Bowl championships, was on the hot seat as the Giants had missed the playoffs the previous three seasons with their 2014 season ending with a 6-10 record, tied for the worst record in a season with Coughlin as the head coach of the Giants.
To defeat the Saints, the Giants would need a big day from their quarterback, Eli Manning, who was returning home to Louisiana, to play the team his father, Archie, played for from 1971-80.
After the Saints went three-and-out to start the game, the Giants got the ball at their 40-yard-line as Manning would complete four of his first five passes to move New York to the New Orleans' two-yard-line where on 4th & goal, Manning would connect with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the touchdown to give the Giants an early 7-0 lead.
The Saints would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as Brees began the drive with a 17-yard screen pass to running back Mark Ingram, then later in the drive would connect with tight end Ben Watson for 25 yards, to set up Brees' 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Snead to help tie the game at seven midway through the first quarter.
Following a Giants three-and-out, the Saints took over at their four-yard-line when Brees threw a deep pass intended for Watson, who made the catch for a 46-yard gain, which led to Brees connecting with wide receiver Brandin Cooks for a 26-yard touchdown to give New Orleans a 14-7 lead with 2:24 left in the first quarter.
The Giants would respond with a nine-play, 79-yard drive that was capped off with an one-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Beckham that with the extra point tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter.
It would take the Saints five plays to get back into the end zone as wide receiver Marcus Colston would turn a short Brees pass into a 53-yard touchdown to put New Orleans back on top at 21-14 with 11:05 still to play in the second quarter.
The Saints defense would hold the Giants to a three-and-out on their next possession to give their offense the ball back at their 40-yard-line when the Saints would put together the longest drive in terms of time as they would hold the ball for the next seven minutes as they drove 60 yards in 14 plays.
Brees would complete all eight of his passes on the drive for 62 yards on the drive with his last completion being a two-yard touchdown pass to Snead, the fourth touchdown pass of the first half for Brees as the Saints increased their lead to 28-14 with 1:46 to go before halftime.
The Giants would go to a no-huddle offense when they got the ball back at their 20-yard-line as New York would pick up one 1st down before it looked like they were set to punt as Manning threw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 5 from the New York 39-yard-line, only for Saints cornerback Brandon Browner get called for a holding penalty to give the Giants a 1st down at their 44-yard-line.
Following a roughing the passer penalty on Saints linebacker Hau'oli Kikaha on the very next play, Manning would complete six straight passes for 41 yards with his last completion going to running back Shane Vereen for a two-yard touchdown to cut the New Orleans lead to 28-21 with two seconds left in the first half.
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| Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw a career high six touchdown passes. |
The Giants would get the ball to start the second half as it would take them just four plays to travel 65 yards as Manning and Beckham connected for their third touchdown of the game, this one for 50 yards that with the extra point tied the game at 28 just 2:02 into the third quarter.
The Saints would answer with an eight-play, 80-yard drive where Brees completed four passes to four different receivers for 60 yards on the drive which culiminated with Brees hitting Cooks for a 21-yard touchdown to put New Orleans back on top 35-28.
The Giants would get great field position to start their next drive as Vereen returned the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to the New York 43-yard-line where a holding penalty would force New York into a 3rd & 16 situation when tight end Will Tye fumbled the football after catching a short pass from Manning as Saints free safety Jarius Byrd would recover the fumble to give New Orleans the ball at the Giants' 36-yard-line.
However, the Saints could not convert on the turnover as Brees threw a deep pass intended for Cooks that was intercepted by Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to give New York the ball back at their seven-yard-line.
The Giants would drive to the New Orleans 47-yard-line before they punted the ball back to the Saints, who would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as New Orleans would use the running game for this drive as Ingram carried the ball three times for 25 yards while C.J. Spiller would reel off a 11-yard run on the drive which ended with Brees firing a 20-yard touchdown to Watson to give the Saints their largest lead of the game at 42-28 with 29 seconds to go in the third quarter.
Going back to the no-huddle for their next possession, the Giants drove from their 20-yard-line to the Saints' 33-yard-line when it looked like the New Orleans defense had forced another turnover as defensive end Bobby Richardson sacked Manning to cause a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Tyeler Davidson.
But the fumble was negated by a holding penalty on Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux to give the Giants a 1st down at the Saints' 28-yard-line as the Giants advanced to the New Orleans nine-yard-line when on 4th & goal, Manning found wide receiver Dwayne Harris in the end zone for the touchdown to cut New Orleans' lead to 42-35 with 12:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Following a Saints three-and-out, the Giants got the ball at their 35-yard-line as it would take New York three plays to drive down the field as Manning would hit Beckham for a 38-yard completion, then find wide receiver Rueben Randle for a seven-yard gain, then ending the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Harris to help tie the game at 42 with 9:30 left in regulation.
The Saints began their next drive at their 20-yard-line as Brees helped move the New Orleans offense to the New York 43-yard-line when threw a pass intended for Snead, who looked to have made the catch until he was hit hard by Rodgers-Cromartie, which caused the ball to be dislodged from Snead and into the arms of Giants defensive back Trumaine McBride, who returned the interception 63 yards for the touchdown to give the Giants a 49-42 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Now trailing for the first time in the game, the Saints began their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as two passes by Brees for nine yards set up a 4th & 1 at the New Orleans 29-yard-line when Payton decide to gamble and go for the 1st down.
The gamble paid off as Ingram ran for two yards to give the Saints a fresh set of downs at their 31-yard-line where after a false start penalty pushed the Saints back five yards, Brees would find Cooks for 12 yards then Colston for five yards to move the sticks as the Saints had a 1st & 10 at their 43-yard-line.
Following an incomplete pass, Brees would complete a five-yard pass to Snead, then connect with Watson for 16 yards and then Snead again for nine yards, before handing the ball off to Ingram on three straight plays as the former Heisman Trophy winner would move the Saints to the Giants' nine-yard-line with a 2nd & goal situation.
Then is when Brees threw his record-tying seventh touchdown pass of the game, a 9-yarder to Spiller that with the extra point tied the game at 49 with 36 seconds left in regulation.
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| Saints quarterback Drew Brees became the eighth player in NFL history to throw seven touchdown passes in one game. |
Following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, the Giants got the ball at their 20-yard-line with all three timeouts which meant they had plenty of time to drive down the field for a possible game-winning field goal.
Manning would overthrow Randle on 1st down, then connected with Vereen for five yards as New York called timeout with 25 seconds before their 3rd & 5 when Manning threw a pass that bounced off the hands of Harris and incomplete to force a 4th & 5 as the Giants would punt the ball back to the Saints as overtime appeared to be on the horizon.
Giants punter Brad Wing's kick traveled 46 yards as Saints returner Marcus Murphy received the punt at his 29-yard-line as Murphy ran the kick back 24 yards to the Giants' 47-yard-line until he coughed up the football after a hit by Giants defensive back Craig Dahl that was picked up by Snead, who was tackled by Wing as the punter grabbed Snead's face mask.
Wing was called for a face mask penalty, even though Snead could not advance the fumble as the only way the offense can advance a fumble in the final two minutes is if the player who fumbled the ball makes the recovery, which put the Saints at the Giants' 32-yard-line with five seconds to go, meaning the Saints could win the game with a field goal.
Payton would send in the Saints' field goal unit as Kai Forbath would come on to make a 50-yard field goal as time expired to give New Orleans a 52-49 win in the fifth highest scoring game in NFL history.
Manning played one of the best games of his NFL career as he completed 30 of 41 passes for 350 yards and threw a career high six touchdown passes but it was not good enough as Brees completed 39 of 50 passes for 505 yards and seven touchdown passes, tying the mark for most touchdown passes thrown in one NFL game.
The Giants would go on to finish the season with a 6-10 record as Coughlin would resign after the season as his 12-year run in New York came to an end after compiling a 102-90 record.
As for the Saints, they would go on a four-game losing streak after their win against the Giants as they would finish the 2015 season with a 7-9 record, the second of three straight 7-9 seasons before Payton and Brees led the Saints to four straight playoff appearances from 2017-20.
