Giants-Cardinals: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Maybe Eli Manning should play every game in Arizona.

The Giants returned to the scene of their Super Bowl victory last season, and the Giants QB, with a big boost from Domenik Hixon, led Big Blue to a 37-29 romp over the Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals. It was another test for the best team in football, and they passed with ease.

The Good

With no Brandon Jacobs available, the Jints took to the air to beat Arizona. All the talk before the game centered around Kurt Warner and his arsenal of receivers, but it was Manning who was the better quarterback on the field again.

He was an efficient 26 for 33 (240 yards), and threw three touchdown passes. And he didn’t make any mistakes. No interceptions, no fumbles.

Warner threw for a TD, but also had a pick and fumbled once. The Giants only gained 87 yards rushing, but they ran 33 passing plays to 27 on the ground. They beat Baltimore by running last week, and they beat Arizona by throwing this week.

Plaxico Burress started the game, but after the first drive he never stepped onto the field again.

But it wasn’t a problem, as Domenik Hixon took over the game. And he did his best Leon Washington impersonation doing it. He returned three kickoffs for 180 yards, two punts for 21 yards, caught six passes for 57 yards, and gained 11 yards rushing on a reverse.

Do the math (it took me a solid 15 minutes, but I did it), and that’s 269 all-purpose yards. Not a bad day’s work. He fought for a big first down in the fourth quarter and took advantage of every opportunity that was given to him. That’s a big reason the Giants are atop the standings—their depth.

No Burress? Big deal. Hixon will step up.

No Jacobs? Derrick Ward will fill in (69 yards rushing, one TD, four catches for 30 yards). Kevin Boss (four catches) scored another touchdown. Amani Toomer (also four catches) hauled in a TD pass. And Madison Hedgecock was rewarded for all his great blocking by having a touchdown pass thrown his way.

The G-Men were helped by Arizona’s mistakes and penalties, and they capitalized by having good field possession all game long. Hixon’s 83-yard kickoff return came after the Cardinals were penalized on the original kickoff.

Tom Coughlin was aggressive, going for it on a fourth down on the last play of the first quarter, which led to Ward’s touchdown.

The defense only recorded one sack (Justin Tuck), but they pressured and confused Warner all afternoon. The defensive backs often found a free lane to rush the QB. Warner and the Cards' O-line never knew where the pass rush was going to come from.

Tuck forced a fumble (Mathias Kiwanuka recovered it), and Terrell Thomas got the first pick of his career. Kenny Phillips had his best game of the year, leading the team with seven tackles and punching the ball out of Larry Fitzgerald’s hands in the end zone to prevent a TD.

The special teams came up big, highlighted by Hixon’s heroics. Chase Blackburn and Steve Smith recovered a couple of onside kicks. And John Carney was back after spending a week away from the team on a seniors’ cruise to the Caribbean, and booted three field goals.

The Bad

The Giants committed way too many penalties, nine in all, setting them back 76 yards. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many penalties on kickoffs before, by both teams.

The Cards ran back a 55-yard return on one of Carney’s kickoffs. It was a wild game of returns, onside kicks, and penalties on special teams.

The Ugly

As Jerry Glanville might have said, “That free kick by Arizona at the end of the first half wobbled around like a drunk chicken out for a joyride on a tractor.” That thing was ugly.

The Giants won their sixth game in a row. They’re beating good teams. They’re winning by rushing the ball. They’re winning by throwing the ball. They just know how to win.

Next week, it’s back to the NFC East, when they head to Washington for a 1:00 PM kickoff.