Giants vs. Cardinals: 5 things to know about Week 2
The New York Giants (0-1) head out to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals (0-1) this Sunday afternoon at State Farm Stadium.
Here are five things to know before the Week 2 game.
The series
This is the 129th meeting between the Giants and the Cardinals going back to 1926.
The Giants lead the regular season series, 80-46-2.
The Cardinals have won the past four meetings, the most recent being a 26-7 drubbing at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 13, 2020.
The Giants’ most recent victory in the series was a 31-27 win on Oct. 2, 2011 at State Farm Stadium.
The two clubs have never met in the postseason.
Trends
The Giants are coming off a 40-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
The Cardinals dropped their opener, 20-16, to the Commanders in Washington in a game they led after three quarters.
The Giants are 2-4 in their last six games going back to 2022. They finished the season at 10-8-1 with a postseason win under their belts.
The Cardinals have lost eight straight games going back to last season when they finished 4-13.
The Cardinals' pass rush
The Cardinals are now coached by Jonathan Gannon, who knows the Giants very well having been the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles the past two seasons.
Arizona has an effective pass rush, sacking Commanders quarterback Sam Howell six times in last week’s opener. The attack was led by linebacker linebacker Dennis Gardeck with two sacks. In his last meeting with the Giants, Gardeck had two sacks and a fumble recovery.
In Week 1, the Giants’ offensive line surrendered seven sacks and 12 QB hits on Daniel Jones. This is a matchup to watch.
The Giants are favored to win
The Giants are currently favored in the game by 5.5. points. They were 3-2 against the spread as favorites last year and 14-5 in all games ATS.
One might wonder why the Giants — who did not score in Week 1 — would be made such a convincing favorite on the road.
Consider this. The Cardinals have lost five straight games at home, so the oddsmakers can’t make them favorites and expect to get action on that side.
Arizona is 8-0 ATS in their last eight games against NFC opponents, so by making them underdogs, they expect to drum up some interest.
New faces in Arizona
Gannon is in his first season as the Cardinals’ head coach.
Four of the Cardinals’ eight picks in this year’s NFL draft appeared in the team’s opener in Washington last week.
Offensive tackle Paris Johnson, the sixth overall selection in the draft, linebacker B.J. Ojulari (Azeez’s brother), the second-rounder, third-round pick wide receiver Michael Wilson, and defensive back Kei’Trel Clark (sixth round) all made their NFL debuts last week.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs was signed as a free agent this summer to be a placeholder until Kyler Murray returns.
