Who Dat Nation still has a soft spot for Jameis Winston. That changes for three hours Sunday, when the New Orleans Saints visit MetLife Stadium and find their former quarterback leading the 3-1-1 Giants against a team that sank to 1-4 last week.
Winston spent four seasons in New Orleans, and he hasn’t let go of it. “Love that organization,” Winston said at the Giants’ press conference Wednesday. “Man, my heart and soul is with ‘Who Dat,’ but I’m grateful to be a New York Football Giant.”
The Saints pass rush has a target
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Since taking over for an injured Jaxson Dart, Winston is 2-0-1 as a starter with six touchdown passes and three interceptions, per Pro Football Reference. He has also been sacked 11 times.
That’s the opening for a defense with 10 sacks through five games. Chase Young leads the team with four, and Chase Young’s $51 million contract looks better every week he wins off the edge. Carl Granderson has history here, too. He sacked Winston on third down in 2024, when Winston was starting for Cleveland.
Winston can still hurt the Saints if he gets time. He led the Giants to a 27-27 tie in Washington last week, and they are 3-0 at home.
Pressure is mounting in New Orleans
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The pressure inside the building is real. Owner Gayle Benson called the start “not acceptable to me” this week, adding to a stretch that already turns up the heat on her second-year coach. “We’ve got great guys in this building that are doing everything they can to find a formula,” Kellen Moore said.
Moore didn’t sell a magic fix after three straight losses. “All we can control moving forward is playing better, coaching better, giving ourself the opportunities moving forward,” Moore said at the team’s media availability Wednesday. Getting home to a quarterback who has gone down 11 times is the most direct way to do that, and it would take some heat off Tyler Shough, who has been sacked 13 times himself. If Young and Granderson make Winston’s homecoming week uncomfortable, New Orleans has a real shot at leaving New Jersey with its second win.
