Saints vs. Giants: Eli Manning’s four touchdowns keep New York on top of division

Morgan has yet to see more than three targets in any game this season, but he is building a reputation as a big-play receiver. He is averaging 40.8 yards per reception on the year.

Morgan is too risky to recommend starting in any fantasy format, but he is certainly a fun player to watch. He could be worth targeting in fantasy drafts next season after he spends another offseason to build up his rapport with Brees.

Fantasy Impact: Sunday’s game hopefully means a return to Sproles’ productive ways. He began the year with four touchdowns in his first eight games, but a three-game absence due to a hand injury seemed to knock him off track a bit.

Ingram was the Saints’ workhorse this week, but he’s hard to recommend as a regular fantasy option due to his inconsistent touches most weeks. Sproles is probably the most reliable Saints fantasy option if you’re looking for a running back, especially in PPR leagues.

Brees has thrown one touchdown to seven interceptions over his last two games, after throwing three touchdown passes in three consecutive games. He has gone over 300 yards passing seven times this season.

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Cruz has now gone over 100 yards receiving in back-to-back games for the first time this season. Nicks’ touchdown was his third on the season, and second in three games.

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

Wilson’s carries, yards and touchdowns on the ground game were all career highs for the rookie. His kickoff return for a touchdown that gave the Giants their first score of the day was also, unsurprisingly, a career first.

Fantasy Impact: Fantasy owners have waited all year to see Wilson take on a larger role in the Giants’ offense. The rookie out of Virginia Tech is certainly a special athletic specimen, but in all fairness to the Giants’ staff, he hadn’t been particularly effective leading up to his Week 14 outburst.

Manning’s four scores were a season high. He had been held without a touchdown in three weeks leading up to the Giants’ Week 11 bye, but in three weeks since he has thrown eight passing touchdowns.

Fantasy Impact: Manning appears to be returning to form after hitting lull around the midpoint of the regular season. He has tough matchups to close out the year, so we’ll see whether he can keep pace. He has padded his stats against weaker secondaries lately, and a slate of Atlanta, Baltimore and Philadelphia to close the year could present problems. Manning should be a safe start, but he may not be an elite fantasy starter.

The Giants lead the Saints 52-27 at the time of this post.

Fantasy Impact: Wilson probably wasn’t on many fantasy teams this week--the Giants took a lot of heat for essentially hiding him after a Week 1 fumble--but if Bradshaw is out for any amount of time, he’ll be the hot waiver pickup of the week.

When a rookie QB throws 18 interceptions with a lot of yards it’s excusable, when Drew Brees does it -- all of a sudden it’s time to take notice.

Sproles scored on a 13-yard run with 7:21 remaining in the third, and then scored on the nine-yard receptions with 1:51 remaining in the quarter to bring the Saints to within eight points of the Giants. But New York answered by moving down the field and scoring on their next drive early in the fourth quarter.

Sproles looks to be back at 100% after breaking his hand earlier in the season. Sproles missed three games and did not receive a carry in either of the Saints’ two previous games, but is back in the rushing rotation against the Giants.

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

Fantasy Impact: Manning hit a troubling cold streak in November, but he’s settling back down just in time for the fantasy playoffs. He hasn’t reached 300 yards since Week 7, but with a half left to play, he hopes to change that.

Fantasy owners should stick with Eli as a QB2 down the stretch.

Fantasy Impact: Brees hasn’t been particularly bad, he just hasn’t thrown for a touchdown in three consecutive halves of football. Brees had thrown for multiple touchdowns in 10 of the first 11 games of the season, but now is struggling to lead the Saints into the end zone.

This slump can’t continue for too much longer, Brees and the Saints will keep throwing the ball in the second half and chances are he’ll get back into the end zone.

MANNINGFACE!

Bradshaw carried the ball just three times for 6 yards before his injury. He has been in and out of the lineup this year, and throughout his career, with various leg injuries. Entering Week 14, he had 836 rushing yards, 196 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the season.

Nicks’ knee has bothered him all season and cost him three games earlier.

Fantasy Impact: It’s somewhat concerning that Nicks’ knee still isn’t fully healed--he clearly wasn’t 100% earlier this year and it noticeably slowed him down. Still, he should be ready to go and produce against one of the worst defenses in the league.

The Saints offense might not be in perfect form, but historically they’ve had the Giants’ number. Ed Valentine at Big Blue View lays it out:

Jason Calbos at Canal Street Chronicles sees the Saints as cornered, and thinks that’s when they’re at their best:

The Giants come into the game at 7-5 and are in first place in the AFC East, even though they’ve lost three out of their last four. A win over the Saints would get them back on track heading into the season’s stretch run.

The Saints, meanwhile, have fallen out of the playoff picture for now, as losers of two straight. Their defense has been the culprit for much of the year, as they are near last in the NFL in opponent rushing yards and passing yards per contest.

The New York Giants will try to snap an 0-3 SU and ATS streak against the New Orleans Saints when they host the Saints this Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

New York was a 5-point home underdog as of Friday at most shops tracked bby OddsShark.com and the computer prediction of 32-25 would be more than enough for Giant bettors to cash their tickets.

CBSSports.com had seven of their eight NFL experts pick the Giants as straight-up winners against the Saints. Only Jason La Canfora predicted that New Orleans will travel to MetLife Stadium and walk away with a win. Most of their experts are expecting the game to remain competitive, as only Pete Prisco and Dave Richard predict that the Giants will cover the spread.

Barbara Bruno from the Huffington Post also expects the Giants to win on Sunday. Bruno also believes that New York will cover the spread, predicting the Giants to win by seven.

New York opened as 5-point favorites against New Orleans, and the line has either stayed at -5 or shifted to -4½, depending on the betting service used. The Giants are also favored in the moneyline, at -240 to the Saints +200.

The over/under for Sunday’s game opened at 53 and has stayed there. Both teams average 27 points per game, but the Giants own the league’s ninth-ranked defense, while the Saints defense is ranked 28th.