John Fennelly , Executive Editor

The Giants (7-5) host the New Orleans Saints (5-7) today at 4:25pm Eastern. The Giants are favored by 5. The O/U is 53.

What’s at stake for New Orleans…..They lost their first four games this year after the league slammed them with sanctions as a result of the Bountygate scandal. With no GM, head coach or assistant head coach, the team wallowed through the first month. They went on to win five of their next six games before dropping games to San Francisco and Atlanta. They cannot win their division, but their wild card hopes are still alive as of today, albeit slim.

What’s at stake for the Giants…..Last week’s loss to Washington hurt this team’s chances greatly, putting tons of pressure on them to win today. They fell into some bad habits against the Redskins: costly penalties, uninventive play calling, lousy field position and poor execution and tackling. They need to clean those areas up if they are going to make a run. WR Hakeem Nicks is not 100%, the offensive line is in flux again and S Kenny Phillips may not play. They hold a one-game lead in the East over Dallas and Washington. They basically need to sweep their remaining games to ensure a title.

Nuggets

• Each team averages 26.8 point per game on offense, tied for fifth-best in the NFL. It’s on defense where they differ. The Saints are ranked 32nd overall and opponents are scoring an average of 27.3 PPG against them (27th overall). The Giants allow 20.3 PPG, ninth-lowest in the league.
• The Saints are considered a product of the indoor football. That is true, but since 2009, New Orleans has posted the best road record in the NFL (20-10). The Giants actually have a better home record than the Saints (28-10 to 28-9) during that period as do New England, Atlanta and Baltimore.

Trends

Saints are…
5-0 ATS in their last 5 games in December.
5-1 ATS in their last 6 games in Week 14.
14-4 ATS in their last 18 games on fieldturf.
9-3 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

Over is 6-1 in Saints last 7 vs. a team with a winning record.
Over is 11-2 in Saints last 13 vs. NFC.

Giants are…
4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a S.U. loss.
5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss.
5-2 ATS in their last 7 games when playing on Sunday following a Monday night game.

Under is 4-0 in Giants last 4 games overall.
Under is 4-0 in Giants last 4 games after accumulating more than 350 total yards in their previous game.
Under is 6-1 in Giants last 7 vs. NFC.
Under is 5-1 in Giants last 6 vs. a team with a losing record.
Under is 4-1 in Giants last 5 games on fieldturf.