Giant step back for Big Blue

Jets’ coach at a loss

Study. Prepare. Practice. Film work. Condition.

All set up to get the body and mind right for game day. All prelude to what goes down when the lights come on. Ready, aim … misfire. “I hate to get out there and waste those 60 minutes,’’ Odell Beckham Jr. said.

That is about all anyone needs to know about what the Giants came away with Sunday as they blended a determined (for a long while) defensive effort with a decrepit offensive display. It was not a shootout that unfolded on a picture-perfect afternoon at MetLife Stadium, with Drew Brees and the not-so high-flying Saints in the building. A game was there for the taking, especially with the way the Giants on defense were swarming, limiting the Saints to four first-half field goals.

The Giants could not take it. Eli Manning could not get it. Beckham could not grasp it. As a result, the Giants flirtation with winning was brief and their losing ways returned.

A touchdown midway through the first quarter sent the Giants off to a flying start and put a rise into the crowd, but a laconic and sluggish outing with the ball in their possession did the Giants in. They could not generate much of anything and eventually were outclassed by the Saints 33-18 to fall to 1-3 in coach Pat Shurmur’s first season.

“That’s not where we want to be right now,’’ Shurmur said. “Some games that were close enough that if we made more plays, we might’ve had an opportunity to win.’’

With a trip to Charlotte to face the rugged Panthers defense and then a return home to go against the Eagles, the Giants are starting to dig a deep hole for themselves, as far as putting themselves anywhere near playoff contention later in the season.

“I don’t have a Richter scale of where the frustration level is,’’ Beckham said. “It’s definitely frus- trating.’’

Down 26-10, Saquon Barkley scored — the Giants first touchdown since the first quarter — and Sterling Shepard made a two-point conversion catch and the Giants were within eight points with 3:34 remaining. They pinned the Saints back on their 3-yard line, but there was no late defensive stand, as cornerback Donte Deayon was called for pass interference on Cameron Meredith on a key third-down call — one of several calls the Giants felt went against them. Alvin Kamara then burst free on a 49-yard touchdown run — his third TD — to send the fans to the parking lot.

“I thought I got there the same time as the ball did,’’ Deayon said. “Didn’t feel like I hooked him or anything, and they called a flag.’’

The offensive malaise came a week after the Giants showed glimpses of breaking out in a victory in Houston. This was regression, not without precedent. After all, the Giants scored 15 and 13 points in losses to the Jaguars and Cowboys. Forget about reaching 30 points; these Giants usually cannot get to 20

The Saints came in allowing 34.3 points a game, with a pass defense that was shredded on a regular basis. Yet the Giants could not muster much of anything. Manning could not come close to duplicating the excellence he showed against the Texans and Beckham became a humdrum target. Midway through the fourth quarter, he had f ive receptions for a mere 17 yards.

“They weren’t going to give us anything deep,’’ Manning said. “They took away all the deep stuff and made us go underneath. That was fine. We were going to have to have some long drives.’’

That proved to be mission impossible.

“A lot of soft zone,’’ Shurmur said. “We just had to pick away at them a little bit.’’

If not for the unyielding work by the Giants on defense in the f irst half, this would have been a rout. Safety Landon Collins said he believed the defense played well enough to win. It was a 12-7 Saints lead at halftime — one of the field goals was set up by a fumble by running back Wayne Gallman, in the game to give Barkley a rest — and keeping them out of the end zone could not last all game. Second-half drives of 80, 73 and 97 yards ended with Kamara touchdown runs.

“Not wrapping up, not tackling, getting a little tired on defense,’’ Collins said.

Drew Brees came in completing 80 percent of his passes, but was a pedestrian 18-of-32 for 217 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass, but he wore down the Giants and Kamara did the heavy lifting.

“We did a good job,. until the fourth quarter,’’ Collins said.

To think, it all started out so promising. A textbook 10-play, 75-yard drive to open the game was finished off by Manning’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Shepard and the Giants were on their way with a 7-0 lead.

“I thought it was gonna be a good game the way we were moving, everything was fast, fast, boom, boom, boom, hitting it, efficient,’’ Beckham said. “After that I don’t know what happened.’’

Not much happened, and the offense again failed to do enough to contribute to success.

“We need to score more points,’’ Shurmur said. “We had a good first drive and we’ve got to do more of it throughout. That’s what I make of it.’’