Former Jets LB Demario Davis gets 2 sacks against Giants
Demario Davis, shown here with the Jets in August 2017, now starts for the Saints. He had 11 tackles and two sacks in a 33-18 victory over the Giants on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, at MetLife Stadium. Credit: James Escher
It was a homecoming of sorts for Demario Davis, the former Jets linebacker who once called MetLife Stadium home.
But Davis, who enjoyed his best statistical season in 2018 but was not asked back to New York, chose not to dwell on any personal satisfaction after the Saints’ 33-18 win over the Giants on Sunday. In fact, when someone asked what it meant to play in a stadium he used to call home, Davis responded by talking about what his team tried to achieve.
“Defensively, our goals in these games are to stop the run, stop the pass, create takeaways, get off the field, be good in the red zone,” Davis said. “When we do that, we’re successful.”
The Saints were solid in all areas, as they held the Giants to less than 20 points, forced two fumbles and did mostly excellent work in limiting Eli Manning’s effectiveness. Manning threw for 255 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked three times, including twice by Davis. The middle linebacker led the Saints with 11 total tackles.
“It was a big game for us, offensively and defensively,” Davis said. “We wanted to be physical. We knew they were a good offense, good quarterback, good running back, good receivers. Our goals didn’t change: stop the run and stop the pass, get the top on third down, get the takeaways. We did that pretty good today.”
Davis, who had a career-high five sacks last season, had his first two sacks of 2018 against the Giants.
“That’s one of our goals, to get after the quarterback, get hits on the quarterback,” he said. “I think we follow through on our goals.”
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
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