Arizona Cardinals 27 – New York Giants 21

Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

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ARIZONA CARDINALS 27 – NEW YORK GIANTS 21…
The New York Giants saw their season all but officially slip away on Sunday by losing 27-21 to the Arizona Cardinals at a rainy MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants are now 2-5 on the season, losing their last three games.

The Giants sleepwalked through the first quarter and quickly found themselves in a 17-0 hole at the start of the second quarter. The Cardinals drove 75 yards in 13 plays on their opening drive, converting on a 4th-and-3 at the Giants’ 35-yard line, and finishing up with a 20-yard touchdown run by running back Chase Edmonds. The Giants then gave the ball right back to the Cardinals on quarterback Daniel Jones’ interception into double coverage, returning the ball to the Giants’ 32-yard line. Three plays later, Edmonds scored his second 20-yard touchdown run. New York went three-and-out on their second drive and the Cardinals gained 54 yards in nine plays to set up a successful 47-yard field goal.

Down by 17, the Giants quickly got back into the game. First, New York drove 79 yards in just four plays, including a 20-yard run by running back Saquon Barkley, a 20-yard reception by wide receiver Golden Tate, and then a 28-yard touchdown pass from Jones to tight end Rhett Ellison.

The Cardinals muffed the ensuing kickoff and began their drive at the 14-yard line. On 3rd-and-5, quarterback Kyle Murray was sacked by defensive lineman Olsen Pierre for a 15-yard loss. Arizona attempted to punt out of the endzone, but safety Michael Thomas came clean up the middle and blocked a punt that running back Elijhaa Penny recovered in the endzone for a touchdown. All of the sudden, the game had tightened to 17-14.

Both teams had long drives before halftime, but neither got close enough to attempt a field goal. At the half, the Cardinals continued to lead by three points, 17-14.

Both teams exchanged three-and-outs to start the third quarter. On New York’s second possession of the half, the Giants reached the Arizona 37-yard line. But on 2nd-and-8, Daniel Jones was sacked for a 12-yard loss, losing the ball to Arizona in the process near midfield. Three plays later, Edmonds scored his third touchdown of the day, this time from 22 yards out. The Cardinals were now up 24-14.

The Giants responded with a 12-play, 49-yard drive that included a 4th-and-6 conversion on a 15-yard pass from Jones to Tate. Unfortunately, the possession ended with a missed 37-yard field goal by place kicker Aldrick Rosas as the third quarter was closing out.

New York got the ball back with just under 13 minutes left to play and tightened the game again with an 8-play, 82-yard drive. Barkley scored from seven yards out to cut the score to 24-21 with just over eight minutes left.

The Cardinals gained one first down but then were forced to punt. The Giants were only down by three points with 4:23 left on the clock. However, a porous offensive line that allowed eight Cardinals’ sacks on the day, could not protect Jones. Head Coach Pat Shurmur oddly called a running play on 3rd-and-18, and followed that up with a 4th-and-15 pass attempt that resulted in another strip-sack fumble recovery at the New York 17-yard line. The Cardinals settled for a 35-yard field goal with just over two minutes left in the game.

The Giants had one final shot to win the game. But nothing went right. Wideout Darius Slayton only reached the 12-yard line on the kickoff return. Jones was sacked two more times and the game ended with a 4th-and-29 incompletion.

Against what had been the NFL’s 30th-ranked defense, the Giants only gained 263 net yards and scored 14 offensive points. The Giants were 4-of-12 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down. Jones completed 22-of-35 passes for 223 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He was also sacked eight times (hit 12 times), losing 67 yards and fumbling three times in the process (two of which were recovered by the Cardinals). In addition to the sacks, Cardinals also had seven tackles for losses. Tate was the leading receiver, with six catches for 80 yards. No other receiver had more than 35 yards. Barkley carried the ball 18 times for 72 yards and a touchdown.

The defense “only” allowed 245 net yards, including 89 net yards passing. But the Cardinals rushed for 156 yards and had three easy 20+ yard touchdown runs by Edmonds. The Giants did not force a turnover on defense. Olsen and linebacker David Mayo had the only sacks for the Giants.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

INACTIVES AND INJURY REPORT…
WR Sterling Shepard (concussion), CB Corey Ballentine (concussion), QB Alex Tanney, TE Garrett Dickerson, OT Eric Smith, OT/OG Chad Slade, and LB Chris Peace were inactive.

LB Lorenzo Carter injured his ankle but returned to the game.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Pat Shurmur and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

• Head Coach Pat Shurmur (Video)
• QB Daniel Jones (Video)
• RB Saquon Barkley (Video)
• WR Golden Tate
• TE Evan Engram (Video)
• OG Kevin Zeitler
• S Jabrill Peppers
• S Michael Thomas

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Pat Shurmur and select players will address the media on Monday. The players are off on Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.