Kamara, Lutz strikes helping New Orleans Saint get past Giants on Sunday

Running back Alvin Kamara had touchdown runs of 9, 4 and 49 yards, and Wil Lutz kicked four second-quarter field goals to lift the New Orleans Saints to a 33-18 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Saints (3-1) earned their third consecutive victory and moved into first place in the NFC South. The Giants fell to 1-3, last in the NFC East.

Kamara's 49-yard score with 2:06 left iced the game, capping a six-play, 97-yard drive after the Giants had closed within 26-18 with 3:44 left. Kamara finished with 134 yards on 19 carries and had another 47 yards on five catches.

After coming up without a touchdown on four red-zone trips in the first half, the Saints finally broke through with Kamara's 9-yard touchdown run on a read-option handoff from wildcat quarterback Taysom Hill, putting New Orleans up 19-7 midway through the third quarter.

The Giants cut the deficit to 19-10 on a 33-yard field goal by Aldrick Rosas, but Kamara's 4-yard dive with 6:47 left in the game gave the Saints 26-10 lead.

New York's Saquon Barkley leapt for a 1-yard touchdown with 3:44 left, and the Giants converted a two-point play on Eli Manning's pass to Sterling Shepard, making it 26-18.

When Ted Ginn muffed the ensuing kickoff, the Saints started at their own 3-yard line. However, Brees connected with tight end Josh Hill for 21 yards on first down to get New Orleans out of the hole. Giants cornerback Donte Deayon then gave the Saints a first down with a pass-interference penalty. Kamara sealed the result with his 49-yard run off right end.

The Saints had four prime scoring opportunities in the first half, but tight coverage by the Giants' secondary forced the high-octane New Orleans offence to settle for four Lutz field goals of 42, 34, 37 and 26 yards. The Saints went to halftime holding a 12-7 lead.

Brees normally is extremely efficient in scoring position, but on the four drives inside the Giants' 20-yard line, he was 2 of 8 for minus-3 yards along with an 8-yard sack. Hill also had one red-zone throw, but Kamara dropped an 11-yard pass that should have been an easy touchdown.

The Giants took an early 7-0 lead, capping off a 75-yard, 10-play drive on their first possession with Manning's 3-yard pass to receiver Shepard at the right pylon.

(With inputs from agencies.)