Breathe a sigh of relief, Giants fans. The New York Giants trailed 20-0 at halftime to the Arizona Cardinals, who have arguably the league's worst roster. The first half was one of the ugliest halves we have seen a Giants squad play in the last decade, but they bounced back in the second half.
I don't know what Brian Daboll said to the Giants at the half; knowing him, it was an expletive-laden tirade. Whatever happened in the locker room, it fired up the Giants. New York came out on fire and outscored the Cardinals 31-8 in the second half en route to a 31-28 comeback win. The win marked the largest comeback in Giants history since the start of the Super Bowl era.
It was an ugly win, but it was necessary with San Fransisco, Seattle, Buffalo, and Miami on the schedule the next four weeks. Here are five Giants heroes who saved Big Blue (and may have even saved the season) in the thrilling win over Arizona:
5. WR Jalin Hyatt
Jalin Hyatt had no catches last week or in the first two quarters this week. He was open deep multiple times against Dallas in the first half, but Daniel Jones never looked his way. Brian Daboll, Mike Kafka, or quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney told Jones at halftime to start looking the way of Hyatt in the second half, which completely changed the game.
On the first play of the second half, Jones threw a beautiful bomb deep to the speedster Hyatt for 58 yards, completely changing the momentum and setting the tone for the second half.
JALIN HYATT 58 YARDS!!! 💨 pic.twitter.com/427oRolFnr
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 17, 2023
Hyatt had this to say to reporters about the play after the game. "I told DJ right before we broke out after the huddle, I said, 'Throw it,' I said, 'Just throw it.' And he trusted me; he threw it."
Hyatt also hauled in a 31-yard pass from Jones with the Giants down 28-21. The catch was heavily contested. The catch set up the Giants game-tying touchdown, which was fantastic to see. Despite having just two catches, his 89 receiving yards led the Giants. His ability to create big plays is a game-changer for the Giants offense and NY must get him more involved moving forward.