The Cardinals sacked Manning three times!

What the hell is going on here?

Everyone expected a tight game, but (as with last week’s fiasco) no one actually expected the Giants to lose. Not on home turf. The Cardinals have had little luck in the past at the Giants’ stadium. As Joe Lapointe remarked, in last night’s game neither the Giants nor the Cardinals played at a championship level, but it was sure interesting to watch anyway.

Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin can  be downright dominant with a stingy defense, but it sure wasn’t the offense that carried the Cardinals to just their third win in 18 visits to the Meadowlands. The final score, 24-17 over the Giants, was decided by the Cardinals’ scary defense. “Our game plan was to get [Manning] rattled, make him make quick decisions and quick throws,” linebacker Gerald Hayes said. “He made some plays, but they came up short.” Manning completed only 19 of 37 passes, for 243 yards, and the Giants had four turnovers. But Manning was not the only Giant playing a piss poor game. Jeff Feagles, a punter who is usually among the best, had an exceptionally poor game, putting his team in bad field position. The Giants also took two delay-of-game penalties, among others.

Nevertheless, the Giants led by 14-10 at halftime, probably feeling pretty good about it too. My man, Hakeem Nicks, had scored the second touchdown on a fluke play that went 62 yards. Manning passed long, for Mario Manningham. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who covered him, deflected the ball, but it carried 10 yards to the Cardinals’ 30-yard line. Nicks, keeping pace with the ball, grabbed it out of the air and raced untouched to the end zone, giving the Giants a 14-7 lead with 2:09 left in the second quarter. “I saw the ball was tipped, and it was tipped to the spot where I thought I could have gotten to it,” Nicks said. “So I just ran to it and ran to the end zone.” Hakeem Nicks also admitted it was probably as bizarre a touchdown as he’s ever gotten. He deserves credit, all the same, for his quick thinking on that wonderfully opportunistic play. By game’s end, Nicks caught four passes for 80 yards. After seven games, Nicks has 16 catches for 315 yards and four touchdowns. As the Giants’ offense gets back on track, starting with the Eagles next week, Nicks might be the ignition the blue train needs.

The Giants didn’t manage to hold their thin lead long into the second half. The Cards earned two rushing touchdowns within 35

minutes of play. Tim Hightower scored the second. The Cardinals pulled into the lead, 17-14, with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Though Manning started to get his act together in the fourth quarter, it was too late. He knew it, his team knew it and most importantly, the Cardinals knew it. In the end, the Giants missed too many opportunities… Manningham dropping a sure TD comes to mind, along with settling for a field goal on a fourth and one with a 24-17 score on the boards. Needless to say you also can’t turn the ball over four times (and nearly a fifth) and expect to win games. This team seems to have gotten complacent. Yet the question is why?

One wonders why the team as a whole seems so disorganized, despite being one of the best on the field? Even Manning seems bewildered by the poor performance: “I’ve got to play better football,” he said. “Hopefully, you don’t throw interceptions. I don’t think we have to get concerned. We’ve lost two in a row. We definitely don’t want to lose three in a row. Can’t turn the ball over four times.” Hopefully, this marble won’t be running loose in his brain in the next game. He needs his confidence. His team needs leadership.

Read the full recap here!