Dec 24,
4:25 PM Giants at Cardinals
|
Game 15 | | | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cardinals | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
Giants
lose to the Cardinals 23-0. Eli Manning was 27 of 45 for 263 yards, 2 INTs,
and 1 fumble. Wayne Gallman rushed for 18 yards on 10 carries, and caught 6
passes for 44 yards. Paul Perkins rushed for 10 yards on 3 carries. Orleans
Darkwa rushed for 10 yards on 6 carries. Rhett Ellison caught 4 passes for
60 yards. Sterling Shepard
caught 5 passes for 45 yards. Roger
Lewis caught 4 passes for 40 yards. Jerell Adams caught 4 passes for 31 yards. Hunter
Sharp caught 2 passes for 25 yards. Evan
Engram caught 1 pass for 12 yards. Travis Rudolph caught 1 pass for 6 yards. Ross
Cockrell had 2 INTs. Jason
Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon each had 1 sack. Aldrick Rosas missed on a 33
yard field goal attempt.

"Christmas
Eve is not my favorite day to watch a football game. Although I guess if the Giants
were actually in contention for something, that would make matters even worse.
When Eli Manning threw an 11 yard pass to Wayne Gallman for a first down on the
very first play of the game, I thought things might work out fine today. Then,
they didn't make another first down until after the Cardinals scored a field goal.
You could see that the Cardinals defense really wanted to win this game. They
were aggressive and were hit with three penalties as Manning connected on some
good passes to Evan Engram, Gallman, and Sterling Shepard. Then they intercepted
Manning on a deep pass to Evan Engram. Except for killing the drive it wasn't
that bad as the ball was at the Arizona 25-yard line, and they went three-and-out
thanks to Olivier Vernon's sack on Drew Stanton. Both teams went nowhere on the
next two drives, and then Manning started putting it together again. As usual
it was all on him with no assist from the running game. Manning threw a 15 yarder
to Rhett Ellison on a fourth-and-two, and got down to the Arizona 15-yard line,
and Aldrick Rosas could have tied the game up, but he missed on the 33 yard field
goal. The defense had been doing a decent job on Larry Fitzgerald. They kept
him out of the endzone on two short yardage passes when the Cardinals settled
for a field goal, but that couldn't last forever. Fitzgerald had made some big
catches, and with about a minute left in the half, Stanton connected with him
for a 13 yard touchdown. Manning followed that up by throwing an interception
on a deep pass to Roger Lewis, and that basically ended the half with the Giants
down 10-0. The Cardinals started off the second half easily moving the ball
downfield to score a touchdown. They missed the extra point, so now they were
up 16-0. Later there was some hope when cornerback Ross Cockrell intercepted a
pass meant for Fitzgerald in the endzone for a touchback. That hope was gone a
few plays later when Manning fumbled the ball, and the Cardinals returned it for
a touchdown and a 23-0 score. The fourth quarter had just started, and the
way things were going you just wanted to see the Giants score some points. Before
the quarter ended, Cockrell intercepted Stanton for a second time, and that was
about it, as Manning threw passes to anyone he could find. Besides his running
back Wayne Gallman, there were tight ends Jerell Adams and Rhett Ellison, and
receivers Travis Rudolph, Roger Lewis, and Hunter Sharp. After this loss and totally
disappointing season, I'm really not looking forward to next week when the Giants
finish up with a game against the Washington Redskins at MetLife Stadium." 
"This
was the next to last game of the season. Eli Manning played strongly last time
out, and today had different results. It didn't help that tight end Evan Engram
was hurt after making just one catch in the first quarter. Engram was out for
the rest of the game, so Manning's leading receiver was taken away. Tight ends
Rhett Ellison and Jerell Adams combined for 8 catches out of 11 for 91 yards.
The running game with Wayne Gallman, Orleans Darkwa, and Paul Perkins was non
existent this week, totaling just 43 yards (including Manning's 5 yard run). That
was the least yardage they've come up with since totaling just 35 in the first
game of the season. The only running back Manning threw to was Wayne Gallman,
and Gallman was more effectively used that way, catching 6 out of 8 for 44 yards. As
has been typical with Manning having to get rid of the ball so quickly, working
behind the offensive line he has, the wide receivers caught fewer passes, and
for less yards than the tight ends and running backs combined. Sterling Shepard
was hurt in the fourth quarter with a neck injury, and he did not return. Manning's
'hot' target continues to be Roger Lewis, and that worked out about as well as
it did last week. Today they connected for only 4 out of 11 passes, and last week
it was 4 out of 10. With no time to throw and no running game, the
Giants converted on only one of their 14 third-down attempts, and one of their
4 fourth-down conversion attempts. The Cardinals held onto the ball longer in
this game (6-7 mins), and came away with all the points, winning 23-0. Interim
head coach Steve Spagnuolo has had three games to show what he possibly could
do, but all three have been losses. Spagnuolo gets one more shot next week in
the final game of the season, when the Giants take on the Washington Redskins."
| First
Quarter | | CARDINALS
- FIELD GOAL Play:
Phil Dawson 21 Yd Field Goal Drive
info: 9
plays, 46 yards, 5:16 Cardinals 3-0 |
| Second
Quarter | | CARDINALS
- TOUCHDOWN Play:
Larry Fitzgerald 13 Yd pass from Drew Stanton (Phil
Dawson Kick) Drive info:
9 plays, 79 yards, 2:04 Cardinals
10-0 |
| Third
Quarter | |
CARDINALS
- TOUCHDOWN Play:
John Brown 15 Yd pass from Drew Stanton (Phil Dawson
PAT failed) Drive info:
11 plays, 75 yards, 5:35 Cardinals
16-0 |
| Fourth
Quarter | | CARDINALS
- TOUCHDOWN Play:
Robert Nkemdiche 21 Yd Fumble Return (Phil Dawson
Kick) Drive info:
3 plays, 1 yard, 0:57 Cardinals
23-0 |
Notes:
Giants
cornerback Ross Cockrell had 2 interceptions in one game for the first time in
his career. Giants fell to 2-13,
which is a franchise single-season record for losses.
Giants finished 1-7 on the road, which is their worst record since 1978. Giants
are 0-11 in games against NFC opponents for the first time in their history. Giants
had their first shutout loss since 2004. Giants
Eli Manning completed 27 passes for 263 yards, moving him into 6th place in the
NFL with 51,550 total yards. Next
Game:
DEC 31 - Redskins at Giants. Giants
Tickets - Buy
or Sell
Click
on the Team Giants logo to be informed of all Giants game previews, reviews and
off season football news. Stop
in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet" at MikesKeys.com |  |
| |