• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Bush, McAllister lead Saints to rout of Giants

Dec 25, 2006 - 1:20 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Rookie Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister showed how determined they are to earn a playoff bye. The New York Giants looked like anything but a playoff team.

Bush rushed for a season-high 126 yards and a touchdown and McAllister added 108 yards and a score as the Saints rolled to a 30-7 victory over the Giants.

The Saints (10-5), who clinched the NFC South title last week, can earn a first-round bye if Dallas loses against Philadelphia on Monday or with a win next week against Carolina.

The loss was the sixth in seven games for the Giants (7-8), who are still alive in the race for an NFC wild-card spot.

"That one really hurt," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "I don't have an awful lot to say about this game."

Philadelphia (8-6) leads the wild-card race. New York, Atlanta, Carolina, Green Bay and St. Louis each own 7-8 marks.

But the gap between the Saints and Giants was clearly illustrated on Sunday. New Orleans rushed for 236 yards while holding the Giants to 142 total yards and six first downs. New York did not even take a snap in New Orleans territory for the entire game.

"We ran the ball very well and we didn't turn it over," Saints rookie coach Sean Payton said. "Our guys up front did a great job. And our defense was magnificent."

It was not a pleasant final home game for the Giants, who close the regular season at Washington next weekend. The fans began to flock out of Giants Stadium after McAllister scored on a nine-yard run to give the Saints a 27-7 lead just 54 seconds into the fourth quarter.

John Carney added his third field goal of the game with 11:52 left to complete the rout.

Tiki Barber, the Giants' all-time leading rusher who will retire after the season, certainly could have come up with a better script for his final home game. He accounted for more than half of the Giants' offense, rushing for 71 yards on 16 carries and catching three passes for 12 yards.

"We made countless mistakes," Barber said. "We have not stopped the run defensively and moved the ball offensively. When that happens, you are going to lose."

Bush and McAllister stole the show from Barber. Bush's previous rushing high was 67 yards against Cleveland in the season opener at Cleveland. He had 10 touches for 70 yards on the Saints' go-ahead 18-play, 89-yard drive late in the first half.

Meanwhile, McAllister eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the fourth time in his career, increasing his season total to 1,057 yards.

"We have a lot of weapons," McAllister said. "Reggie had the hot hand and I told coach to leave him in. He made plays and we didn't want to alter his rhythm. This is about the team."

Payton, a former offensive coordinator with the Giants, once again devised a brilliant game plan which utilized both backs effectively. And this one came with Drew Brees completing just 13-of-32 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.

"I thought it was a great all-around effort by everybody," Brees said. "Anytime that you have two 100-yard rushers in Reggie and Deuce, it is a testament to them, the offensive line, fullback Mike Karney and our receivers blocking."

Eli Manning was completely confounded by the Saints' defense, completing just 9-of-25 passes for 74 yards with an interception. Most of Manning's yards came when he connected with Plaxico Burress on a 55-yard scoring play 2:17 into the game. That play was made possible because cornerback Fred Thomas slipped near the line of scrimmage.

Carney kicked a 32-yard field goal in the first quarter and added a 26-yarder 1:59 into the second quarter to pull the Saints within 7-6.

Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner and the second overall pick in the draft, then starred on the 18-play drive which lasted more than 8 1/2 minutes. Brees capped it with a two-yard scoring toss to rookie Marques Colston on a fourth-down play with 1:51 left in the second quarter, giving the Saints a 13-7 halftime lead.

"It's a play where I'm going to have a prety good size advantage over the majority of corners in this league," said the 6-5 Colston, who caught the pass over cornerback R.W. McQuarters, who is 5-10.

Brees connected with Terrence Copper on a 40-yard pass before Bush scored on a one-yard run on an end-around with 7:55 left in the third quarter to increase the advantage to 20-7.

Seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan returned for the Giants after missing the last six games with a sprained foot ligament. He recorded five tackles and deflected a pass, but was held without a sack.