Following the Arizona Cardinals season-opening loss, many of us felt that the Redbirds defense would need to keep the New York Giants offense in check. And while the G-Men were embarrassed last Sunday night, we thought head coach Brian Daboll would have “Big Blue” ready for redemption in this one.
Instead, the Cards shut out the Giants in the first half, extending their former NFC East rival’s scoreless streak to six quarters. It looked like the Redbirds had it all wrapped up, especially after they went up 28-7 midway through the third quarter. Then…the inevitable struck…
Arizona Cardinals collapse following a 28-7 lead
It almost looked as though the Cardinals and Giants swapped roles in the second half, as the G-Men outscored “Big Red” 31-8 in the final 30 minutes of play. To say the least, it was a historic loss, as few teams can head into another time zone, find themselves down by three scores, and end up winning.
While there are no excuses in the NFL for blowing such a large lead, let’s sit back and take a few breaths. This is a young Arizona Cardinals football team and things like this will happen as part of the rebuilding process.
No, it’s not acceptable, and everyone in the home team’s locker room knows it. But we also had a showdown between a group that made and won a playoff game in 2022 against a squad still working on building a foundation one player at a time.
While I’m not shocked at the outcome thanks to the fact “Big Blue” is a couple of steps higher on the rung, the Cardinals can’t let this happen again. Making mistakes, even giant mistakes - pun intended - is part of the learning process, and they ultimately bring you one step closer to your ultimate goal. But the mistake is only worthwhile if you learn from it.
Next week, the Arizona Cardinals face a rough, tough Dallas Cowboys team that has outscored their opponents 70-10 this season. The Cards have an opportunity to respond and learn from this historic collapse - let’s see if they are up for the challenge.