New York Giants Top Arizona Cardinals 31-28 in Comeback Thriller

The Giants overcame a 21-point deficit, tying the largest scoring gap during a game in franchise history.

Joe Najarian | Sep 17, 2023

New York Giants Top Arizona Cardinals 31-28 in Comeback Thriller /

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New York Giants

It was a tale of two halves for the New York Giants, who overcame a 20-0 halftime deficit to top the Arizona Cardinals, 31-28 in a thriller at State Farm Stadium to earn their first win of the 2023 season.

The Giants, who couldn't get anything going in the first half, finally started to jell in the second en route to orchestrating their biggest come-from-behind win since they overcame a 21-point deficit twice in games against the Eagles on December 2, 1945, and the Chicago Cardinals on October 30, 1949.

The Giants erased their deficit by scoring 24 unanswered points and outscoring the Cardinals 17-0 in the fourth quarter alone. Despite the sluggish start, the Giants racked up 439 yards of offense to fuel the comeback.

Quarterback Daniel Jones bounced back from his horrific Week 1 by completing 26 of 37 passes for 321 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while posting a 103.5 passer rating and rushing for 59 yards and another touchdown.

Running back Saquon Barkley, who suffered what appeared to be an ankle injury on New York’s final drive, was instrumental in the comeback by racking up 63 rushing yards on 17 carries, catching six passes for 29 yards, and scoring both a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Receiving-wise, rookie Jalin Hyatt sparked the comeback with two huge receptions for 89 yards, his first two catches of his professional career.

Tight end Darren Waller also caught six passes for 76 yards.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Giants running back Arizona Cardinals (26) runs the ball against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. :: Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The first half was a disaster for the Giants, who continued their 2023 scoreless streak to six quarters. The Cardinals made it into Giants territory on all five of their first-half drives through a series of chunk plays engineered by quarterback Joshua Dobbs and running by running back James Conner.

Kicker Matt Prater, who missed a 55-yard field goal attempt on the opening drive, was good on attempts made from 37 and 44 yards.

The Cardinals got their first score of the day on a 9-play, 86-yard touchdown drive sparked by a 13-yard run by Dobbs. Arizona benefitted from a 15-yard penalty called against Giants safety Xavier McKinney, and then the Cardinals got a 21-yard completion to Michael Wilson, moved the ball inside the red zone.

Conner finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, giving the Cardinals a 7-0 lead.

Arizona scored on their next two drives as well. Dobbs completed passes to Trey McBride, Zach Ertz, and Rondale Moore for 23, 14, and 14 yards before Dobbs scored on a 23-yard scramble. Later, a 22-yard completion to Brown and a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke set up the first of Prater's two successful field goals.

The Giants, meanwhile, ran just 11 offensive plays on their first three drives, all of which ended in punts. They finally started getting a good drive when they moved the ball to the Arizona 36 on their fourth possession.

Unfortunately, Jones’s ensuing pass bounced off the hands of Barkley and was intercepted by safety Jalen Thompson, who returned it 35 yards to the Giants 34. This set up a 44-yard field goal by Prater, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 20-0 entering halftime.

Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) scores a touchdown against the New York Giants at State Farm Stadium.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals' James Conner (6) runs the ball past New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden (41) at State Farm Stadium.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz (86) attempts to catch a pass a New York Giants corner back Deonte Banks (25) defends at State Farm Stadium.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs after making a catch against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half at State Farm Stadium.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Giants safety Isaiah Simmons (19) during the pregame warm-up before playing the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) runs for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at State Farm Stadium.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety K'Von Wallace (22) tackles New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) during the first half at State Farm Stadium.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half at State Farm Stadium.

The Giants had been outscored 60-0 through six quarters to start the season, a truly humiliating statistic. Fortunately, the offense would finally wake up in the second half.

On the first play of the half, Jones launched a 58-yard bomb to rookie receiver Jalen Hyatt, who recorded the first reception of his career on the play. Two plays later, Jones scored on a 14-yard run, giving the Giants their first points of the season, training 20-7.

Arizona responded in kind with an 8-play, 75-yard drive. During the drive, an interception by Jason Pinnock was negated by a pass interference penalty on Okereke, his second costly penalty of the game. Dobbs eventually threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Brown, then ran in the two-point conversion to extend the Cardinal lead to three touchdowns.

But the Giants’ offense was finally clicking, and they struck back with a 12-play, 75-yard drive. A 29-yard reception by Darius Slayton and a 13-yard scramble by Jones would eventually set up Barkley’s 1-yard touchdown run to cut New York’s deficit to 28-14.

The Giants’ defense finally forced the Cardinals to punt, and the offense capitalized by marching 80 yards in 13 plays. Waller hauled in two catches for 39 yards, and Barkley’s 9-yard touchdown reception, his second score of the day, cut the deficit in half.

With all the momentum shifted, New York’s defense quickly forced another punt to get the red-hot offense back on the field. On cue, Jones and company needed just six plays to find the endzone; a 31-yard bomb to Hyatt immediately moved the ball inside the red zone, and Jones finished the drive with an 11-yard strike to Isaiah Hodgins. After Graham Gano kicked the extra point, the game was tied at 28.

Arizona got the ball back with 4:25 left in regulation but immediately went three-and-out. This gave Jones two minutes and 39 seconds to get the Giants in position to take the lead.

Despite Barkley's injury on the drive, Jones delivered an 18-yarder to Slayton and led the Giants to Arizona’s 16-yard line. Gano then drilled a 34-yard field goal, and the Giants had taken their first lead with just 19 seconds remaining.

New York’s defense extinguished the Cardinals’ last gasps, and after an incredible comeback, the Giants entered the win column.

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Published Sep 17, 2023

JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian, a Rutgers University graduate, covered Rutgers Football and Rutgers Baseball during an eight-month stint with Jersey Sporting News (JSN).