The Saints prepare to face the Giants, still hoping to pull through | Nfl

The New Orleans Saints changed head coaches mid-season to try to turn things around. The New York Giants switched quarterbacks midseason to try to turn things around. The Saints (4-8) and Giants (2-10) are still trying to get back on track when they meet on Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York has lost seven games in a row, has the worst record in the NFL and is mathematically out of the playoff race. New Orleans won its first two games under interim coach Darren Rizzi before losing 21-14 to the visiting Los Angeles Rams last week. The Saints will need to win in each of their final five games to finish with a winning record, but Rizzi is hopeful because no one has taken control of the NFC South. “There’s something to be said for still playing for something,” Rizzi said. “It would be very different if we went out there with zero chance and not one chance.” “The big picture is we still have a chance to potentially win our division, but that won’t happen if we win this Don’t win the game.” This week.” The Saints have suffered a number of injuries to key players, one of the most serious being the season-ending knee injury suffered by Taysom Hill against the Rams. Hill is a team captain, special teams leader, backup quarterback and running back, fullback and tight end. “We’ve done a good job over the last few weeks involving a lot of different people and it has to stay that way,” Rizzi said. “It’s going to take multiple people to fill that role because he’s so versatile-dimensional.” The Giants suffered a significant loss when star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence retired in a 27-20 loss on Thanksgiving suffered an elbow injury in Dallas that landed him on injured reserve. “The reality is we’re going to miss him,” New York linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “But this will be a great test and a great evaluation of everyone around him. Dex can’t be our excuse for why we’re good or not “Play well.” New York showed some improvement against the Cowboys when Drew Lock, making his first start at quarterback this season, drove his team to a touchdown on the game’s first possession, giving the Giants their first lead in seven games provided. Giants coach Brian Daboll benched Daniel Jones last month and the organization granted his request to release Tommy DeVito replacing Jones in a 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before Daboll turned to Lock announced Wednesday that Lock, who completed 21 of 32 passes for 178 yards with one interception, rushed four times for 57 yards and a TD and a fumble lost to the Cowboys, would start on Sunday. “I would say Drew did some good things in Dallas,” Daboll said. “He made some good plays, some plays with his feet, he stepped up when he was under pressure and looked downfield. He also did some things that he can improve on. I need to correct some of these turnovers.” Daboll described the status of five starters who missed practice Wednesday – left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (quad), right tackle Evan Neal (hip), defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck), cornerback Deonte Banks (rib), inside linebacker Bobby Okereke (back) – as week-to-week. The Saints’ starting guards – Cesar Ruiz (concussion) and Nick Saldiveri (knee) – had to miss practice on Wednesday. Rizzi said starter Erik McCoy (groin) is on track to play Sunday. –Field level media