5 takeaways from New York Giants’ 31-28 comeback win over Arizona Cardinals

By Jason Leach

·September 17, 2023

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

After trailing 20-0 at halftime in which the offense mounted just 81 yards of offense, the New York Giants outscored the Arizona Cardinals 31-8 in the second half to come away with a 31-28 victory to earn their first win of the season.

The first six quarters of the season couldn’t have gone any worse for New York. They were outscored 60-0 and were looking at starting 0-2 with a brutal four-game stretch upcoming.

But Brian Daboll and his team made the necessary adjustments and came away with a much-needed win.

There were several noteworthy occurrences in Sunday’s game, but there are the top five takeaways from New York’s come-from-behind victory.

Daniel Jones showed why the Giants gave him a lucrative contract

When you’re down 20-0 with just 30 minutes remaining in the game, you’re going to need your quarterback to be excellent in the second half. Fortunately for the Giants, Daniel Jones had one of the best games of his career and led the team to score drives on all five of their second-half possessions.

He completed 26-of-37 passes for 321 yards and two passing touchdowns and also ran the ball nine times for 59 yards and a touchdown. He did have a pass bounce off Saquon Barkley’s hands that was intercepted by Jalen Thompson in the second quarter, but after that he and the offense were flawless.

It’s performances such as this is why the organization gave him a four-year $160 million contract this offseason. Jones should be one of the favorites to win NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Jalin Hyatt makes New York’s passing game more explosive than it’s been in years

If you could pinpoint where the game’s momentum changed, it was on the first play of the second half when Jones connected on a 58-yard pass to Jalin Hyatt down to the Cardinals 17-yard line. The rookie receiver was able to get behind the Cardinals’ defense, and then two plays later, Jones ran for a 14-yard touchdown for New York’s first points of the season.

Hyatt would later catch a 31-yard reception that was also instrumental in another scoring drive. Without his big play ability, the comeback may not have been possible, and he showed a glimpse of why the team’s passing game will be more dynamic this season.

Darren Waller is Daniel Jones’s go-to-guy

While Hyatt led all receivers with 89 receiving yards, Darren Waller was the player that Jones targeted the most. Waller caught six of his eight targets for 76 yards.

When a play needed to be made 6-foot-6 245-pound tight end stepped up and was Jones’s security blanket. There was a ton of hype surrounding Waller this summer about being uncoverable, and on Sunday, he lived up to it. If Week 2 is any indication of what we’ll see for the remaining 15 games, Waller could be on his way to the Pro Bowl.

The defense is a major issue

Although the defense only allowed eight points in the second half, they were abysmal in the first half allowing Arizona to score on their final four possessions of the first half.

Cardinals quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who was making his fourth NFL start, carved up the defense and finished the game completing 21-of-31 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 41 yards and scored on a 23-yard run in the second quarter to put Arizona ahead 14-0.

Running back James Conner also had success against Big Blue’s defense, gaining 106 yards on the ground on 23 carries and scoring on a four-yard run for the first points of the game. In total, the defense gave up 379 yards to a team that had just 210 yards of offense last week against Washington. To make matters worse, the defense has yet to register a sack or force a turnover in their two games. This is a major concern considering they face high-powered offenses in their next four games.

Saquon Barkley might miss some time

The lone cloud hanging over the team’s win is the status of Saquon Barkley, who injured his ankle while being tackled by Krys Barnes and Dante Stills on New York’s final drive of the game.

The star running back had to be helped off the field by trainers and slammed his helmet to the ground when he got on the sideline. The extent of his injury is unknown at this time, but considering New York has a quick turnaround playing the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, it seems doubtful Barkley will be available and could be out for an extended period of time.