Giants vs Cardinals: 5 Things We Learned from New York's 31-27 Win

The New York Giants just pulled off an incredible come from behind win, beating the Arizona Cardinals 31-27 after they went down 27-17 with 5:20 left in the 4th quarter. 

Using some help from the refs, which I'll address later, the Giants were able get 14 points in about two minutes of game time, and stopped the Cardinals on a 4th and 2 to end the game. 

The Giants showed a lot of heart to come back in this game. The Cardinals ran the ball down the Giants' throats all day long and the offense proved they had the defense's back in this one. 

The defense had bailed out the offense a lot this year, it was about time the offense returned the favor. 

Here are five things were learned after today's outcome. 

The Refs Stunk

Let me go ahead and address this now. The Giants were very fortunate in this afternoon's victory. After scoring and forcing and three and out, the Giants got the ball back on the Cardinals' 47 yard line with just over three minutes left in the game. 

On the first play of the drive, Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz along the seam, who decided it would be better to go down instead of getting hit and risk losing the ball—three defenders were closing in. 

When he went to get up, he left the ball on the turf and the Cardinals picked it up and advanced it. Now being that Cruz was ruled down, they could not advance it but luckily with the new rule, they CAN challenge the fumble. 

They did get the challenge flag thrown in time, and all hope seemed to be lost. 

However, the refs stepped in and said that Cruz gave himself up, meaning the play could not be challenged and he is officially ruled down. 

This essentially is what happens when a QB slides or a player takes a knee. Seeing as how neither happened on the play, Cruz should not have been ruled down, and the Giants should have lost the game. 

Given the second chance, Eli hit Nicks down the sideline on the very next play for a touchdown, and the Giants defense held their ground to seal the victory. 

This was the main terrible call of the day, but there were missed calls all over the field on both teams. Patrick Peterson was getting away with a ton of contact all day long, and the Giants offensive line seemed to be holding plenty more than they were called for. 

Not to mention a particular play where Darnell Dockett horse collared AND pulled Brandon Jacobs' facemask on the same play. 

All in all it wasn't an impressive day for the refs, especially when they affected the outcome of the game. 

Of course, the Cardinals still had to play defense, which they apparently forgot to do. 

Despite His Faults, Eli Manning Still Has the Clutch Gene

The Giants have never really been considered a team that can mount huge comebacks considering they do most of their damage on the ground, but nobody seemed to tell Eli Manning that today. 

Manning was 15/18 for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, leading the Giants on three scoring drives. One thing nobody can question is Manning has the clutch gene and he showed it off this afternoon. 

That's a 145.3 QB rating in the fourth by the way, finishing with a 108.4 rating on the day. 

Where you at, haters?

The Giants Love Playing in Arizona

There is just something about playing in Arizona that gives the Giants that extra something. It seemed to be in the Cards (get it?!) for them today as the refs gave them a little gift at the end. 

The last time the Giants played here, they shocked the world by beating the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. 

Only eight of the 22 starters remain from that game, but it obviously is a place they enjoy playing. 

The Running Game Is Still a Problem

The Giants called 24 running plays and 41 passing plays in today's win over the Cardinals. Against a team with as young and terrible a secondary as the Cardinals have, they were able to get away with it. 

They won't beat very many good teams if Eli Manning has to drop back and throw 40 times a game; that's not how this team is built. 

Ahmad Bradshaw was the leading rusher with 39 yards on 12 carries, and they only had 54 yards on 24 carries as a team. 

They ran the ball well against the Eagles, but who hasn't? Every other game it has been an issue. We should be thankful the Giants are 3-1, they normally have to get the running game going to be successful. 

Victor Cruz Has Asserted Himself the No. 2 Wide Receiver

At least for now, the Giants have found themselves a solution for their slot wide receiver solution. Oddly enough, it's NOT Victor Cruz. 

Actually, Cruz played most of today's game as the No. 2 wide receiver, with Mario Manningham coming in when the Giants went to three wide receiver sets. 

I felt like that was the perfect solution after witnessing Cruz' destruction of the Eagles secondary last Sunday. Manningham and Eli have a solid chemistry and Manningham is a little taller and more willing to go across the middle and take big hits. 

While Cruz has done that as well, he seems to thrive as the split out rather than the slot man. We'll see how this plays out moving foward, but I imagine the Giants won't take Cruz out of the starting lineup until he makes some big mistakes. 

Hopefully that never happens.