Brian Daboll, fresh off being named the NFL Coach of the Year after leading the Giants to their first postseason victory since Super Bowl XLVI, sat with a group of reporters back in March at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix. He said something then that he referenced again Tuesday morning, hours after the Giants won their third consecutive game to claw their way back into the postseason picture after a 2-8 start.

"I remember at the owners meeting, I talked about it at the breakfast, one year has nothing to do with the next," Daboll said. "One game has nothing to do with the next. This is a tough league for everybody. You have to be able to handle the ups, and you have to be able to handle the downs. You don't accept the downs, I'll tell you that. There's a lot of things that you have to do better to try to get yourself out of a rut. That's everybody, that starts with me. You don't get too high when things are going and you're winning a few games. Because this league is a humbling league. I've said it I don't know how many times, it's a very humbling league."

The Giants (5-8) will look to keep the late run going in New Orleans, where the Saints (6-7) also look to stay alive in the playoff hunt. Here are three keys to victory on Sunday:

One good turn deserves another

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale admittedly cleaned up his word choice before answering a question this week. He was asked about putting a finger on why the Giants are taking the ball away at such a high rate as of late.

"If I could do that," he responded, "we'd have a crap ton of them … every year."

The Giants have forced 12 turnovers during their three-game winning streak after having just 10 in their 2-8 start to the season. It doesn't take Vince Lombardi to draw a line between the two.

The other side of the ball is equally important as quarterback Tommy DeVito, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, has not thrown an interception in the past three games. In addition, the last Giants quarterback before DeVito with three straight games with 20+ attempts and 100+ passer rating was Eli Manning in 2014. DeVito is the first Giants rookie quarterback to do it.

That's the good news for the Giants. The challenge this week will be facing a Saints defense that has allowed the lowest opponent passer rating in the NFL this season (74.7).

The perimeter game

Kayvon Thibodeaux described the Saints as a "run-first, run-second" team as opposed to a week ago with the Packers, who were a "run-first, throw-second" offense. What they do have in common, though, is both like to attack the perimeter.

"They're very meticulous," Thibodeaux said. "They're very, I'd say different than the teams we've played. They like to run the ball. They've got a lot of guys who can run it. They've got a lot of guys and a lot of shifts and motions and things like that that we're going to focus on. But as always, we've got to stop the run and make them throw the ball and let the backend cover down and we affect the quarterback."

"If you give (Alvin Kamara) space in the running game, he can go from zero to really fast very quickly," Daboll said. "Same thing in the passing game; you throw him a three-yard checkdown and if you don't take proper angles and work together as a defense and make sure he's funneling where we need to funnel him and tackle him, he's one of those guys that can get it and take it a long way if we don't play with good technique."

On the flip side, the Giants placed a "high emphasis" on breaking containment over the bye week. Daboll dedicated periods of practice last week where he told DeVito "under no circumstances throw it on time." The scramble rules paid off, most noticeable on DeVito's pinpoint eight-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins as he rolled to his right. DeVito was also dangerous holding onto the ball, rushing 10 times for 71 yards.

Poise in the noise

After a tumultuous first 10 weeks, the Giants have started the same five offensive linemen – Andrew Thomas, Justin Pugh, John Michael Schmitz Jr., Ben Bredeson, Tyre Phillips – in four consecutive games. The group even received the game ball from Daboll after not allowing a sack on Monday night.

"I think the five of those guys that have been working together have continually improved," Daboll said. "They're communicating well. There are obviously certain things we can all do better, but it's good to have those five guys out there for consecutive games. All five of them have done a good job."

All five of them haven't played together in the Superdome, and that's part of the reason why the Giants practiced indoors all week. "Just playing loud music, practicing inside, and cranking it up as high as we can," the head coach said.

Notes & stats to impress your fellow football fans

The Saints are 3-3 at home in 2023 and 10-13 since 2021, their first season without Drew Brees. The Saints had an 80-40 home record from 2006-2020 with Brees and Sean Payton.

Derek Carr has four games in 2023 with fewer than 130 pass yards despite completing 13+ passes in each game, tied for the second-most such games in a season in NFL history (Trent Dilfer in 1996).

Ten of Carr's 13 passing touchdowns in 2023 have come when not under pressure.

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave has 1,621 air yards on targets in 2023, the most in the league.

No team in NFL history has ever made the playoffs after starting a season 2-8 or worse.

DeVito is the first undrafted rookie quarterback to lead two game-winning drives in the Common Draft Era.

Saquon Barkley is the fourth Giant with 5,000 rushing yards and 2,000 receiving yards (Tiki Barber, Alex Webster, Frank Gifford).