The Saints didn’t do a lot of marching into the end zone in the first half of their return to New Orleans, but they finally got there just before halftime.
Jameis Winston hit tight end Juwan Johnson for a 15-yard touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half. Aldrick Rosas’ extra point tied the game at 7-7 and the Giants had a Hail Mary picked off by Marcus Williams on the final play of the quarter.
The touchdown came at the end of a 13-play, 90-yard drive that ate up more than eight minutes of clock. They’d only picked up 92 yards on offense to that point and their only other bid for points was a 58-yard field goal that Rosas missed earlier in the second quarter.
Saints head coach Sean Payton opted for that field goal after punting from the same spot on the field in the first half. The Giants capitalized on their former kicker’s miss when Daniel Jones hit John Ross for a 52-yard touchdown pass one play after the errant kick.
That was the biggest play of the day for the Giants, but they had another solid drive that ended with no points when Graham Gano missed a 35-yard field goal. That miss ended his run of consecutive makes at 37 and helped send the game into halftime with the score knotted up.
