Manning, Giants Rally to Beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-27

It seems only the Arizona Cardinals (1-3) can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

For the third week in a row, the Arizona Cardinals lose a game late in the fourth quarter, but this time they may have had some help from the refs.

Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes in a 58-second span to seal and steal the victory for the New York Giants (3-1).  Manning finished the day 27 for 40 with 321 yards passing. 

The first pass was to tight end Jake Ballard with 3:37 seconds to go and then shortly thereafter Hakeem Nicks burned rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:58 seconds left.

The Cardinals got the ball back after the Nicks touchdown and drove down the field but on a fourth-and-1 decided to run a play instead of using their final timeout to draw up a play. Larry Fitzgerald could not grab the pass from Kevin Kolb, and the Giants took over the ball for the win.

In one of the more controversial calls you will see this year, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz caught a pass late in the fourth quarter and goes down to the ground untouched. Cruz lets the ball go, and the Cardinals pick up what appeared to be a fumble. 

Coach Whisenhunt throws the challenge flag, but the refs ruled that Cruz went down and "gave himself up." The play was ruled dead, and Eli Manning found Hakeem Nicks for a 29-yard touchdown on the next play. 

Beanie Wells returned from a hamstring injury that kept him out last week and gave the Cardinals a much needed offensive boost. He scored three touchdowns and finished with 138 yards rushing.

Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 102 yards including a phenomenal 47-yard catch where he took the ball from the Giants defender.

Kevin Kolb finished 20 for 34 with 237 yards and one interception.  The Cardinals mounted a 10-point lead with five minutes to go, and appeared that they had the right formula for success with Beanie Wells running the ball. 

But the Cardinals, who seem to be allergic to keeping fourth-quarter leads, blew another one by letting the Giants score 21 points in the fourth quarter and now are 1-3 and two games behind the surprising San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West. The Cardinals had 11 penalties for over 100 yards, and that won't win you many games. 

Next week the Cardinals travel to Minnesota. New York plays Seattle at home.