What we learned from Giants’ 31-28 win over Cardinals
The New York Giants mounted an unbelievable comeback Sunday afternoon in their game versus the Arizona Cardinals to even their 2023 regular season record to 1-1.
Here are three quick things we learned from the Week 2 victory.
It ain't over...
The Giants trailed the Cardinals, 28-7, with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third quarter. They then scored 24 unanswered points to pull out the victory.
The comeback was historic as much as it was much-needed.
The 21-point deficit is tied for the largest they ever faced in a game the Giants rallied to win. The last time they won a game from 21 points down was on October 30, 1949 against the Chicago Cardinals at Comiskey Park.
This is their third such comeback of 21 points or more, the second against the Cardinals. The first time was on December 2, 1945 against the Philadelphia Eagles at the Polo Grounds.
Droppin' Dimes
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was under siege again in the first half of Sunday’s game. He was 9-of-16 for just 62 yards, was sacked twice, and was charged with another interception that was not his fault.
Down, 20-0, at halftime head coach Brian Daboll challenged his team, asking them ‘are we gonna fight or what?’
They fought. Jones took the Giants on his back and led them on five straight scoring drives in the second half — four touchdowns and the winning field goal with 19 seconds left.
Jones finished the game completing 26 of 37 passes for 321 yards with two touchdowns for a passer rating of 103.5. He also rushed for 59 yards on nine carries and another score.
Asked what they did differently in the second half, Jones provided his typical low-key explanation.
“Just getting back to simple execution, and trusting it, seeing it, and ripping it. We had some opportunities to make plays in the first half. We didn’t do it and I knew that it’d be there. I just had to execute, give our guys a chance to make those plays and we did it and built off of it going forward,” he said.
Changing (at) the guard
The Giants were forced to play without their All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
They started a new lineup along the offensive line. Right tackle Evan Neal, center John Michael Schmitz, and left guard Ben Bredeson were back a their usual spots to start the game, but Joshua Ezeudu started for Thomas and Marcus McKethan was at right guard, replacing Mark Glowinski.
Glowinski would come into spell Bredeson in the second half after Bredeson left the game with a concussion.
The Giants have always been high on Ezeudu and McKethan — college teammates from North Carolina who were selected in the 2022 NFL draft — and this could be a preview of that vision.
