Both rosters were short. Arizona went in without safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, corner Starling Thomas V, linebacker Cameron Robertson and tackle Josh Fryar, all inactive. Josh Sweat, questionable all week with the groin, did play. New York was without Brian Burns, on IR with the torn ACL, and Jihad Ward, the edge signed to help cover for him, was inactive. Devin Singletary, Thomas Fidone II and Ar'Darius Washington were healthy scratches. Deonte Banks, Tyler Nubin and Andrew Thomas all played with no designation, which gave the Giants a fuller secondary than the one that faced Tennessee.
It also got worse for Arizona during the game. Safety Andrew Wingard hurt his knee and was ruled out, tight end Hunter Long went down with a knee and was listed questionable to return, and guard Isaiah Adams was listed questionable too. That's a safety room already missing Taylor-Demerson losing another body, plus a hit to the protection in front of Brissett. New York had its own losses: Braxton Berrios was ruled out with a foot injury, and Chauncey Golston and Jason Pinnock were both listed questionable. The Cardinals simply had less depth to absorb it.
The line score shows how fast it turned. Arizona's 14-point 1st quarter ended the opening-drive problem, since the Giants managed only a field goal in the opening 15 minutes. Then New York put up 16 in the 2nd quarter and went into the half up 19-17. Arizona answered with a 3rd-quarter touchdown, but the Giants matched it with 8 of their own to lead 27-24. The 4th quarter was all New York: 9 points scored, 0 allowed. A Cardinals offense that put up 30 in San Francisco went scoreless while it needed points.
The Giants' defense was supposed to be the question without Burns. It gave up 14 early and then held Arizona to 10 points over the last 3 quarters, with the 4th-quarter shutout sealing it. The box-score search turned up only season totals, so there are no confirmed passing lines for Winston or Brissett here. The scoreboard is clear anyway. A Giants offense that had been built around not losing went over 30 against a secondary playing short-handed by the 2nd half, and Brissett's passing game couldn't keep up once it fell behind.
That's 3 straight losses for Arizona, now 1-3, and this was the first one where the early hole wasn't the reason. The Giants move to 3-1 with 2 straight wins, and the offense that looked like dead weight 2 weeks ago is suddenly coming off a 36-point day in the drizzle at MetLife. Whether that holds up with Winston for the foreseeable future is next week's question. For one Sunday, New York won it on offense.