New York Giants vs. Arizona Cardinals | Gameday Blog and Discussion

Was last week's win against the Seattle Seahawks, a team with a winning record, a fluke or are the Giants really for real?

Author:
Jackson Thompson
Publish date:
Dec 13, 2020 5:29 PM EST

The Giants proved last week that they are perfectly capable of standing toe-to-toe with an opponent with a winning record.

Yet their convincing win over the Seattle Seahawks still wasn't enough to convince some skeptics that the Giants are indeed a team on the rise that is for real.

Will a win this weekend against the Cardinals (6-6) finally put an end to the whispers of doubts?

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Giants - What to Watch For:

The Giants aim for their eighth consecutive game rushing for at least 100 yards, and their fifth consecutive win.
The Giants aim for their 13th consecutive game with at least 2.0 sacks. The Giants 32.0 sacks through Week 13 are tied for 8th in the NFL.
The Giants aim for their third consecutive game forcing a turnover. The Giants’ 20 takeaways are tied for 3rd in the NFL.
Daniel Jones aims for 2nd consecutive season with at least 3,000 passing yards.
Leonard Williams needs 1.5 sacks (8.5) to reach 10.0 this season. Last week at Seattle, Williams surpassed his career-high of 7.5 sacks (2016). The last time a defensive lineman had at least 10.0 sacks was in 2017 (Jason Pierre-Paul).

This Week on Giants Country:

Pregame

Quarterback Daniel Jones is set to make his return from a hamstring injury against the Cardinals according to ESPN.

There was speculation around whether Jones' injury would have been fully healed by gameday and whether he would play throughout the week. While it's unknown whether the hamstring has made a full recovery, the Giants coaches and trainers saw enough in practice this week to green-light Jones for today's game.

However, veteran backup Colt McCoy, who led the team to a 17-12 victory over the Seattle Seahawks last week, is still expected to be ready to go just in case. McCoy continued to take first-team reps with the starters in practice this week and proved to be one of the more dependable backup quarterbacks in the NFL last week just in case.

Meanwhile on defense, with rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes inactive with a neck injury, fellow rookie Xavier McKinney could see a larger role at the slot cornerback position.

McKinney, the Giants' second-round pick in this year's draft, plays the natural position of safety, but the Giants made it a priority to cross-train all their defensive backs to play every position. The opening at slot will give McKinney an opportunity to finally get on the field for regular reps since his return from foot injury which caused him to miss the first three months of the season.

First Quarter

Jones' first snap on offense is a pass to Slayton. They will look to get that connection back in rhythm as their chemistry has been lacking over the last few weeks. Jones to Slayton has been the Giants' most dangerous connection on offense and is critical to keeping defenses on their toes.

Former Giants edge rusher Markus Golden backs up his bold proclamation from earlier this week that he was going to bring it against the Giants, as he sacks Jones and forces the ball out for an early turnover.

Jones avoided turning the ball over in his last three starts but the streak ends early in this game.

The Giants defense answers however, forcing a turnover on downs at the goal line for a huge stop to keep the game scoreless.

Jones will now have to come back onto the field with the ball at the one-yard line after his defense bails out his mistake with another exceptional goal-line stand.

The Giants are unable to pick up a first down and the Cardinals are able to start their ensuing drive inside Giants territory. The Giants defense is able to hold up once again and force a 3-and-out but the Cardinals are still able to capitalize with a 34-yard field goal by kicker Mike Nugent.

Cardinals lead 3-0.

The Giants are able to pick up a couple first downs on their ensuing drive but Jones waits in the pocket way too long on 3rd-and-short and takes a drive-killing sack. Jones doesn't appear to have the same confidence and mobility that he had prior to the injury and his play so far in this game may be a consequence of coming back prematurely.

Second Quarter

The defense answers again forcing another Cardinals 3-and-out. Veteran defensive back Logan Ryan had a chance to come down with an interception but Cardinals wide receiver Deandre Hopkins plays defense on Ryan knocking the ball out to ensure Arizona has a chance to punt.

Jones continues to be off on his reads as the offense stalls again and is looking even less potent than it did last week with McCoy at the helm.

The Giants defense gets another stop inside the red zone in a series in which Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray appeared to go down with a non-contact lower-body injury, but is able to come back on the field.

Nugent connects from 37 yards out to push the lead to six.

Cardinals lead 6-0.

Giants running back Dion Lewis fumbles the football on the kick return and the Cardinals will take over near the Giants' red zone. It's the second Giants' turnover of the game and another folly by the special teams, which was supposed to be one of the Giants' strengths this year.

The Giants' defense isn't able to bail out the mistake this time as Murray connects with tight end Dan Arnold in the endzone for the first touchdown of the game.

Cardinals lead 13-0.

The Giants' defense just gets away with giving up a big third-down conversion as a booth review wipes out a 26-yard reception by Arnold and the Cardinals will punt the ball into the endzone and Jones will get the ball at the 20-yard line with 1:44 left in the half.

The Giants get nothing on their last ditch drive and get a scare by the Cardinals offense before the half. A bizarre ending to the half sees a missed 55-yard field goal attempt by the Cardinals get negated by an Arizona false start penalty.

Arizona then opts to attempt a hail marry but Murray just scrambles out of a short run as time expires.

Halftime

One would think the return of Jones would open up the offensive playbook a bit more from last week, however the Giants' offense looks arguably as bad as it has all year, and that's saying a lot.

The Giants are going to a very predictable power run, short pass strategy against a defense that has seemingly figured them out to a T.

The running game and passing game has been taken away from the Giants in this game and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will have to get more creative in the second half as nothing has worked thus far.

The defense, as dependable as it is, has had to be on the field way too much as Arizona has dominated time of possession 17:43 to 12:17.

The turnover differential has also been a problem for the Giants in this game, as they have coughed up the ball twice, once on offense and once on special teams, and haven't managed to take the ball away yet.

Third Quarter

The Cardinals beat down the Giants' defense on the opening drive of the half, marching 77 yards down the field on 11 plays to score a touchdown and extend the lead to 20.

Cardinals lead 20-0.

McCoy was seen warming up on the sideline.

The Giants' offense finally answers as it marches 75 yards on seven plays with a healthy mix of run and pass plays as Lewis punches it in from the one-yard line. It's Lewis' third touchdown of the season and first on the ground since Week 2 against the Bears.

Cardinals lead 20-7.

The Giants' defense gives up some first downs but stiffens up when it matters and forces the Cardinals to punt. Jones will come back onto the field with a chance to cut the deficit again.

The questionable playcalling returns as the Giants elect to go for a deep pass on a 3rd-and-1. The pass to a non-open wide receiver Sterling Shepard falls incomplete and the Giants are forced to punt the ball right back without picking up a first down.

Fourth Quarter

The Cardinals get in range for a 34-yard field goal but the lead is still by just two possessions.

Cardinals lead 23-7.

The Giants will need two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to tie the game and the offense is completely out room to miss now. It will take a perfect game by the Giants offense from here on out otherwise their winning streak is over.

The Giants offense doesn't get the job done and has to punt the ball back, giving Arizona a chance to put a dagger drive together.

The Cardinals get into field goal range, but the Giants are able to get a huge tackle for a loss and a sack on Murray to push them back and force a punt.

Jones takes two more sacks on the ensuin drive as the Giants are forced to punt again and are on the verge of a cripling defeat.

The Cardinals tack on another field goal as Nugent connects from 30 yards out, officially pushing the lead to three possesions.

Cardinals lead 19-7.

McCoy comes onto the field for the Giants.

Cardinals win 26-7.