Cardinals unravel after strong start in loss to Giants

Just about everything was going right for the Arizona Cardinals in the first quarter of Sunday’s 36-24 loss to the New York Giants.

Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love picked up where he left off last game and was moving the ball with ease. The run game in general got after it behind Arizona’s offensive line.

Explosive plays didn’t take long to detonate, with three in the first quarter alone.

Marvin Harrison Jr. found the end zone for the first time this season amid all the outside noise surrounding him.

Josh Sweat finally got back on the stat sheet with a sack. Walter Nolen III was the game wrecker he talked about being this offseason.

And as a team, the Cardinals committed zero penalties — yes, you read that right.

Just like that, Arizona had a 14-3 lead heading into the second quarter and had many thinking Sunday’s game could be a boat race.

Then came the second quarter, where all of the Cardinals’ issues seem to come back tenfold.

Instead of the offense continuing to push the ball down the field, the unit went stagnant with five Arizona drives resulting in -5 yards and no more than three plays a possession.

And with less plays to work with, the Cardinals’ run game that started out so strong, accounted for just 11 yards on six carries. The Love and Tyler Allgeier split in carries that quarter was more of an even split despite Love getting solid forward movement early on.

Jacoby Brissett, meanwhile, turned in his best Jameis Winston impression with a pair of interceptions ending two of those lackluster drives. New York cashed in on one of his picks behind a Malik Nabers touchdown catch.

Winston rebounded from his first-quarter issues, too, with two touchdowns before halftime. Arizona’s defense reverted back to what we’ve seen for the majority of the season.

Had it not been for cornerback Denzel Burke’s interception late in the half to help set up kicker Chad Ryland’s career-high 60-yard field goal to end the half, the final two quarters were shaping up to be all Giants given the massive momentum shift.

To the Cardinals’ credit, they responded with a two-yard touchdown to tight end Elijah Higgins on their lone third-quarter possession following a Budda Baker interception.

Mack Wilson Sr.’s forced fumble breathed some life into Arizona in the fourth quarter, too.

Those, however, would be the highlight of Arizona’s second half.

Despite being in the red zone with a chance to win it late, Brissett instead threw his third interception of the game.

The Giants took the turnover to the house, erasing the final moments off the clock and any sort of a Cardinals comeback along with it.

“No loss is fun. All three losses that we’ve had over the last three weeks have been different,” head coach Mike LaFleur told reporters postgame. “This one is going to sting. It’s not going to be the most fun ride home.

“There are certainly things that I know I wish I would have done better, whether it be in the preparation phase or within that game. … It might sting even tomorrow but when they leave that building, we got to get right back to work Wednesday because no one is going to feel sorry for us.”

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