The NY Giants’ four-game win streak ended today when the team lost 26-7 to the Arizona Cardinals.
You know it’s bad when the NY Giants are looking to put Colt McCoy in for an offensive spark.
However, that’s how today’s game went against the Arizona Cardinals, as the Giants’ win streak came to an end. McCoy ultimately played, in relief of a banged up Daniel Jones in the Giants’ final possession, but FOX reported following halftime that head coach Joe Judge was considering inserting the backup quarterback to spark a listless offense.
After last week’s shocking upset, it was disappointing to see the offense take such a step back.
Jones still looked limited in his ability to run the ball. The Giants’ running game completely disappeared this week after making such huge strides this season with the loss of Saquon Barkley and Devonta Freeman. It was a rough week for the Giants’ offensive line who had been playing so well together.
The Giants will definitely be watching the Washington Football Team take on the 49ers today to see if they remain in first place. New York’s remaining schedule is not easy including two games against the Ravens and Browns.
On his initial drive back, Jones coughed up the ball to former teammate Markus Golden.
The turnover set up the first points for the Cardinals and they never looked back. Special teams continue to plague the Giants. With a head coach who has a background in special teams, this has to be driving him nuts.
On a punt return, Dion Lewis even had the ball kicked out of his hands and picked up by the Cardinals. While the kick is illegal, the call was not overturned. The fumble set up Arizona’s first touchdown of the game.
As a team, the Giants struggled to maintain possession of the ball. Daniel Jones was lucky to not have lost more fumbles.
Maybe he’s not fully healthy yet, but it was hard to watch Daniel Jones lead New York’s anemic offense. Jones had problems securing the ball and is lucky to only have lost it once. Turnovers have always been Jones’ biggest problem. During this four-game win streak, Jones had done a much better job securing the ball.
Colt McCoy was warming up on the sideline in case the team needed a “spark”, not exactly what you expected to hear after last week. However, Jones had a big throw to Golden Tate to set up the Giants’ first score of the game. His arm strength appears to be healthy, but his ability to run seems to be shaky. Jones did not attempt to rush the ball once and it limited his ability to play quarterback efficiently. McCoy did eventually come in at the end of the game, but the team still didn’t score.
This defense has been tested the last two games, defending D.K. Metcalf and DeAndre Hopkins. In the first half, New York only allowed one touchdown in the Cardinals’ first four trips to the red zone. The Cardinals are the best team in the red zone in the league so this is something the Giants should be proud of. However, on the first possession of the second half, New York gave up a TD after a big Kenyan Drake run. The defense forced Murray to scramble on most plays. Most importantly, they kept the ball out of Hopkins’ hands until the fourth quarter.
The Giants’ success has a lot to do with the solid play by the offensive line. Rookie Andrew Thomas had been holding his own on the line. Running backs Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris have found success due to the line holding off defenders. Both running backs were non-existent in the offense.
The line couldn’t contain the Cardinals, specifically ex-Giant Markus Golden. Golden forced an early Jones fumble that set up the first Arizona points. The Cardinals sacked Jones six times and it seemed Golden played a part in each one. Haason Reddick was responsible for five sacks, a franchise record. Andrew Thomas will have a lot to learn from this week.
The loss may knock the Giants out of first place for this week. However, there is still hope in an NFC East division that has suddenly come to life. It will be much harder if Washington wins today for New York to win the division, but they still hold the tiebreaker over Washington. The Giants’ remaining three games against Baltimore, Cleveland, and Dallas will not be easy. However, both Baltimore and Cleveland are playoff teams so it will be true tests if the Giants are truly playoff contenders or they’ll have to wait another season. The team has already exceeded all expectations and this is the first season in many years that fans are not calling for the firing of Dave Gettleman and New York’s head coach.