EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — You never know when a game — or a season — might turn.

In the New Orleans Saints’ 34-27 win Sunday over the New York Giants, it turned in the blink of an eye and the swipe of an arm by Isaiah Stalbird on a routine and seemingly innocuous kickoff return in the final minutes before halftime.

In an instant and the amount of time it took for Oscar Delp to recover the fumble, the Saints went from downtrodden to uplifted. The takeaway ignited their sideline and triggered a run of 34 unanswered points that buried the Giants and carried the Saints to just their second win of the season, snapping a three-game losing streak and buoying morale as the club prepared to travel across the Atlantic for a much ballyhooed first-ever game in Paris.

“We’re going to enjoy this moment and this win on that flight,” veteran guard David Edwards said. “It's going to be historic, maybe one of the greatest trips of our lives.”

All wins in the NFL are important, but this one was more critical than most. The Saints were coming off a dispiriting string of home losses to the Raiders, Falcons and Vikings that sparked fan discontent and spurred owner Gayle Benson to put the team on alert with an uncharacteristic midseason statement.

“It’s a great feeling to win just in general, but also to get out of the slump that we were in,” tight end Juwan Johnson said. “The biggest thing is just getting back on track, winning games that are ahead of us. I think that was something that was our intention going into it, knowing that this is a game that we got to win to start something.”

The Saints can thank a bunch of unsung heroes for the morale-boosting win.

Veteran cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., who was thrust into duty by Kool-Aid McKinstry’s migraine and recorded the first two-interception game of his career.

Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson, the undrafted rookie running back, who led a punishing ground-and-pound offense that racked up a season-high 175 rushing yards.

Bryce Lance, the rookie wide receiver who recorded the first touchdown catch of his career.

And, of course, Stalbird, who picked a pristine time to record the first forced fumble of his young career.

Stalbird’s takeaway occurred on the kickoff after Daniel Carlson’s 58-yard field goal and enlivened the Saints’ sideline, which had experienced very little to get excited about in the game’s first 28 minutes.

Instead of going into halftime trailing for the 18th time in 23 games under Kellen Moore, the Saints went in tied — and with all the momentum. They rode the wave of positive energy into the third quarter, where they scored two touchdowns and a field goal to take a commanding 27-10 lead into the fourth quarter. The Giants made it interesting by scoring 17 points behind backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy, but in the end, it was too, too late.

The Saints might have wanted to give the other game ball to Giants quarterback Jameis Winston, who seemed to be honoring his game-week proclamation that his heart and soul were with the Who Dat Nation. Winston played like he wanted the Saints to win, greasing the skids on the Giants’ implosion with two interceptions and four sacks.

“Big picture, it was huge, because we definitely needed a win coming off losing three games in a row,” Stalbird said. “That was our mindset. Now we just need to keep this momentum going.”

The last thing the Saints needed was to fly to France for a week of pomp and circumstance surrounding the historic game while mired in a four-game losing skid. Now, they can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the week with family and teammates.

“Yeah, this (win) makes it a whole lot better,” Johnson said. “I think everybody will have good morale going into this week.”

The morale will be even better if they can beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and turn the road trip into a season-changing two-game winning streak.