Why the Giants Will Beat the Cardinals, Why They Won't, and a Prediction

If ever the New York Giants could use a 'get right" game, this weekend's contest against the Arizona Cardinals is it.

The Cardinals are a team that's in the process of rebuilding under a new general manager and a new head coach. They have dismantled many pieces from their past roster, and some would have you believe they're eyeing a high draft pick to potentially start over at quarterback.

But although the Cardinals are in the early stages of their rebuild, they are still out there competing. Last week, their defense recorded six sacks against Washington, the sack total being the second most recorded by any defense in Week 1 action (behind the Dallas Cowboys' league-leading seven sacks against the Giants).

The strength of the Cardinals right now is their defense. Jonathan Gannon, their new head coach, comes over from the Eagles, where he had a star-studded lineup that just so happened to make his schemes look impressive.

Although he doesn't have that same lineup in Arizona, the Cardinals' defense, which does show similar tendencies as the Eagles from last year, is up in the top third of the league in almost every defensive category.

Therein lies the challenge for the Giants, whose offense was completely shut out by the Cowboys last week. Can New York rebound from such a disappointing performance?

Why the Giants Will Beat the Cardinals

The Giants got away from the strength of their offense a little too quickly last week, the strength being the running game with Saquon Barkley. You'll recall that on their opening drive, they were moving the ball down the field until a series of penalties and blunders caused the drive to stall and, eventually, the wheels to fall off the wagon.

This week, the Giants must get back to the run--and stick with it, even if they fall behind in the first quarter as they did last week. The Cardinals finished 12th against the run, allowing 92 yards to the Commanders., 59 of which were recorded by Brian Robinson on 19 carries.

The Giants, who are 2-10 in Saquon Barkley's career when the running back gets 15 or fewer rushing attempts, need to feed the beast because, whether they want to admit it or not, they need Barkley if they're going to make life easier for their offensive line.

I'll give you one more reason to be optimistic: the Cardinals didn't exactly play disciplined ball last week, amassing four 15-yard penalties as part of their nine penalties for 122 yards. Arizona seems to be trying to straddle the line between playing aggressively and playing smart, and based on last week's showing, they couldn't quite achieve that balance on defense.

Why the Giants Won't Beat the Cardinals

In a nutshell, until the Giants' offensive line, which finished dead last in Pro Football FOcus's pass-blocking efficiency rating (67.0), shows it has its act together, that will be my top reason why I don't think they can lose.

The Cardinals defense might not be on the same level as the Cowboys, but it's also not that bad, considering. Head coach Jonathan Gannon, the former defensive coordinator of the Eagles, brought over a lot of concepts with him that he's reportedly been trying to incorporate.

And if that Giants offensive line can't get things straightened out with its assignments and picking up stunts, we could be in for another long and disappointing three-plus hours of football.

Prediction

This should be a "get-right" game for the Giants, but I think it will probably be much closer than it should be, considering the Cardinals roster isn't exactly overflowing with talent to keep one up at night.

If the Giants win, all will be right with their world; if they don't, they'll take an 0-3 record into San Francisco four days later, which won't be a good thing.

Giants 20, Cardinals 17

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