The first time the Arizona Cardinals played at MetLife Stadium this season, it could have doubled as a vacation: see Times Square, perhaps catch some early fall foliage, hop over the Hudson, and whip the Jets. The Cardinals were favored by a touchdown, won by three touchdowns, and flew gleefully back to Phoenix.
That was on October 11th, exactly two months ago. It was just under 70 degrees in NYC, and the Jets were 0-4 - a third of the way to their current gruesome 0-12 mark. Kyler Murray led the Cards with 380 passing yards, Kenyan Drake led the ground game with 60 yards, and DeAndre Hopkins caught 131 yards worth of passes - his third-highest total this season.
But this Sunday is something else for Arizona. It will be colder, and the home team will be much tougher. These Giants aren't the Jets. Heck, these aren't even the same Giants we saw in October, as they bungled their way to just one win halfway through the season. Gang Green may be gangrenous, but Big Blue is a big test for Murray and the Cardinals.
The Giants just pulled off the biggest upset of the season, flying to Seattle and beating the Seahawks while baffling all-world quarterback Russell Wilson. And the Giants didn't even have their own starting QB on the field, instead winning with measured passes by Colt McCoy.
The formerly 1-7 G-Men are now 5-7 and suddenly one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and not only is Murray facing a squad that has won four straight games, but he may also have to face the G-Men without Drake (hip) or Hopkins (back and neck). Neither practiced Thursday, and both are listed as questionable for Sunday's game.
Big Blue has one big variable of their own: who starts under center? Daniel Jones, who hurt his hamstring two weeks ago, has been pining to play since last week but is still questionable. But they feel some comfort knowing McCoy is a savvy backup who may not win the game, but he also won't lose it, and no one is pretending the Giants offense is the machine that buzzsawed their way through four teams. It’s clearly their stout defense that has kept them in games, and kept the opponent off the scoreboard just enough to eke out a few wins.
It feels like almost every Giants defender is getting better by the week, from cornerback James Bradberry, who leads the club in interceptions and passes defended, to DL Leonard Williams, the Jets retread who has been reborn across the hall and leads the team with 8.5 sacks. Their biggest catch of the offseason was clearly LB Blake Martinez, who got a modest 3-year, $30 million deal to leave Green Bay and has rewarded Big Blue with 111 tackles, nearly double the total of their next-best defender.
The Giants defense ranks 10th in the league in total yards allowed (339.0), including fourth in run defense (96.7 yards on the ground per game), and are one of just five NFL teams allowing fewer than 100 each week. Over their last four games, their defense has yielded an average of 16.5 points.
And despite having won one fewer game than the Cardinals (6-6), the Giants are in first place in their division. Vegas has made Arizona a one-point favorite, far from the seven points by which they were favored over the Jets. Had this game occurred a few weeks ago, when the Cards were 6-3 and the G-Men were 2-7, perhaps we would have seen similar point spreads. A lot can happen in a few weeks, especially in the NFL, which has watched the Giants leap from worst to first.
Arizona can't expect warm weather, a warm reception, or a win if they take these Giants lightly, because Big Blue is four quarters from their first five-game winning streak since 2016, when they strung six together. That was also the last year the Giants made the playoffs. If they keep winning while building, they should shock the football world and fight for their playoff lives in January, long after they were left for dead in November.
Follow Jason Keidel on Twitter: @JasonKeidel
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