EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It mattered little to Isaiah Stalbird that a blocker met him immediately as the ball landed in the arms of New York Giants returner Charlie Jones.

From 35 yards out, the New Orleans Saints linebacker just started running. And Jack Kelly, the Giants linebacker tasked with stopping Stalbird, couldn’t do jack. After five yards, Stalbird easily shed the pesky blocker. And with Jones in sight, Stalbird crashed in with the urgency owner Gayle Benson had desperately wanted to see.

As Stalbird’s helmet made contact, Jones somersaulted in the air — with the jarred-loose ball directly above him.

Oscar Delp recovered, and the Saints suddenly had life.

If the Saints ultimately turn around their season, Stalbird’s forced fumble may be remembered as a pivotal turning point — one that captured the heightened sense of desperation following Benson’s remarks aimed at New Orleans’ “unacceptable” poor start.

But even if the rest of the season doesn’t unfold the way the Saints want — and Sunday’s finish gave plenty of reasons to doubt that a switch has been flipped — Stalbird’s turnover was enough to dramatically change the Saints’ 34-27 wild win over the Giants. Down 10-3 with 1:18 left in the second, the Saints capitalized on the turnover and scored another touchdown to tie it at halftime.

The Saints scored 34 unanswered points — which, of course, was undermined by a chaotic fourth quarter that saw the Giants almost pull off an improbable comeback.

But the Saints still needed to show they were listening to Benson’s message. And Stalbird came through in a big way.

“We needed some type of spark, either offense, defense or special teams,” Stalbird said. “That really swung it.”

It was only right that Stalbird was the man involved. Since joining New Orleans as an undrafted free agent in 2024, Stalbird has developed into a special-teams ace. He has lived up to the Saints’ initial projections when the team’s scouts labeled him a “37” entering the draft. That’s New Orleans’ tag for elite special teams prospects, numbered after Steve Gleason.

At the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club this past week, Benson mentioned Gleason — specifically how she was disappointed that the team was blown out on the game celebrating the 20th anniversary of Gleason’s blocked punt after Hurricane Katrina. She called out her coaches, players and executives to fix the mess they found themselves in.

The Saints have a long way to go before they’ve truly fixed their season. But Sunday was a start.

Delp didn’t notice the ball had popped in the air, but he jumped on it once he saw it on the ground. Bodies soon collapsed on him, and the rookie tight end felt hands from all over trying to pry it from him, including from teammate Chris Rumph.

“I was like, ‘Nope, this one’s mine,’” Delp said with a smile.

Delp said the play also reflected what makes Stalbird special. Before the kick, the linebacker told the rookie to anticipate a double team. And so when the Giants tried to do exactly as Stalbird predicted, Delp ran right around the blockers.

That evasion gave Delp room to jump on the ball.

There was also Stalbird’s physical strength. Having the speed and power to drive Kelly back in seconds, then pivot into a violent collision with the returner, also required a skill set not everyone can replicate. Delp is a rookie but said he’s never seen anyone at any level approach special teams as seriously as Stalbird does.

“That dude has a real impact on this team,” Delp said.

The impact continued to be felt in the ensuing snaps. Just one play later, quarterback Tyler Shough took off for a 25-yard gain. Then, on fourth-and-goal from the 2, Shough hit a wide-open Bryce Lance for the tying touchdown.

Edge rusher Cam Jordan said Stalbird’s forced fumble was an “inspiring-type play.” And the defense looked inspired. They followed up Stalbird’s turnover by forcing three more — all interceptions, picking off Jameis Winston twice and backup J.J. McCarthy once.

Then, disaster nearly struck. The Saints gave up 289 yards in the fourth and gave up 17 unanswered points in the final seven minutes. But they held on thanks to an end-zone stop.

The final margin was a touchdown — a score Stalbird helped create.

“From a juice perspective, Stal works harder than anybody in the building,” Shough said.