Arizona Cardinals Survive New York With 25-14 Victory

Sep 14, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington (38) runs the ball against the New York Giants during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t the prettiest game but the Arizona Cardinals came up big in the fourth quarter when they needed it most.  They come away with a 25-14 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon to move to 2-0 on the season.

Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton, starting in place of Carson Palmer, had a decent day.  He went 14-29 for 167 yards.  The important thing here is that he didn’t turn the ball over.  He was sacked four times, mostly due to holding the ball for too long but he made few mistakes.  He found receiver Larry Fitzgerald six times for 51 yards, so a nice day for him as well.

The Cards defense struggled a little bit on Sunday but in the end came up huge.  Giants quarterback Eli Manning went 26-39 for 277 yards and two touchdowns but he also threw two interceptions.  The Giants also fumbled twice.  Two fourth quarter fumbles did the Giants in.  One was on special teams on a kickoff return after the Cards Ted Ginn ran a punt back 71-yards for a touchdown.

Cards running back Andre Ellington also had a nice day, carrying the ball 15 times for 91 yards.  He averaged 6.1 yards per carry on Sunday.  He led the NFL in average per carry last season at 5.5 yards per carry, so clearly there has been no drop off in his production.

Next week the Cards come home for their first divisional game of the season against the San Francisco 49ers.  The Niners play the Chicago Bears this evening at home on Sunday Night Football.