GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Giants played the 1,389th regular-season game in their 99-year history on Sunday and pulled off a remarkable comeback to make their 716th victory one of the most amazing and memorable they've ever delivered.
Trailing by 20 points after a first half in which they were shut out and by 21 points late in the third quarter, the Giants – who, remember, lost last week to Dallas, 40-0 - scored the game's final 24 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, 31-28, in State Farm Stadium.
In the final 8:51 of the game, Saquon Barkley and Isaiah Hodgins scored touchdowns and Graham Gano kicked the game-winning field goal (a 34-yarder with 19 seconds remaining).
The Giants rallied from a 21-point deficit to win for just the third time in their history – once in 1945, once in 1949 and Sunday, thanks largely to a remarkable performance by Daniel Jones, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.
The Giants improved to 1-1 and play San Francisco on the road on Thursday. Arizona fell to 0-2.
"I'm proud of how resilient the guys were," coach Brian Daboll said. "They didn't focus on the scoreboard, and that's a hard thing to do. We are a production business and to focus on just doing your job."
"I think we always remain confident," Jones said of the team's attitude coming off the poor first half. "Just getting back to simple execution, and trusting it, seeing it, and ripping it. We had some opportunities to make plays in the first half. We didn't do it and I knew that it'd be there. I just had to execute, give our guys a chance to make those plays and we did it and built off of it going forward."
View photos from the Giants' 31-28 comeback victory over the Cardinals in Glendale.
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
ILB Micah McFadden (41)
K Graham Gano (9)
DT DJ Davidson (98), DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
K Graham Gano (9)
RB Saquon Barkley (26), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61)
TE Daniel Bellinger (82), RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26), TE Daniel Bellinger (82)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Gary Brightwell (23), RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
P Jamie Gillan (6)
OL Marcus McKethan (60), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61)
OL Marcus McKethan (60), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61)
TE Darren Waller (12)
DL A'Shawn Robinson (91)
ILB Micah McFadden (41), ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61)
TE Darren Waller (12)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
RB Saquon Barkley (26), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
OL Joshua Ezeudu (75)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97)
S Xavier McKinney (29)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
ILB Micah McFadden (41)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
ILB Carter Coughlin (52)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
DL A'Shawn Robinson (91), NT Dexter Lawrence II (97), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
P Jamie Gillan (6)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
OLB Boogie Basham (45)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93), DT DJ Davidson (98)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61), QB Daniel Jones (8), WR Darius Slayton (86), G Ben Bredeson (68)
C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61), QB Daniel Jones (8), WR Darius Slayton (86), G Ben Bredeson (68)
C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61), QB Daniel Jones (8), WR Darius Slayton (86), G Ben Bredeson (68)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18), TE Darren Waller (12)
.QB Daniel Jones (8), TE Darren Waller (12)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18), TE Darren Waller (12)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18), TE Darren Waller (12)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26), TE Darren Waller (12)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
TE Darren Waller (12)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
TE Darren Waller (12)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
CB Deonte Banks (25), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5), NT Dexter Lawrence II (97), ILB Micah McFadden (41)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19), ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19), ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58), S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
ILB Micah McFadden (41), RB Eric Gray (20), S Dane Belton (24)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58), S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58), OLB Jihad Ward (55)
TE Darren Waller (12)
TE Darren Waller (12)
TE Darren Waller (12)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
TE Darren Waller (12)
S Jason Pinnock (27)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61), G Ben Bredeson (68)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
S Jason Pinnock (27), ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
OLB Oshane Ximines (53)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
LS Casey Kreiter (59)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
LS Casey Kreiter (59), OLB Oshane Ximines (53)
S Xavier McKinney (29)
OL Joshua Ezeudu (75)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
TE Darren Waller (12)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
TE Darren Waller (12)
RB Taiwan Jones (36)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
S Xavier McKinney (29)
TE Darren Waller (12)
OLB Jihad Ward (55), CB Adoree' Jackson (22), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5), NT Dexter Lawrence II (97), DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93), DL A'Shawn Robinson (91)
ILB Cam Brown (47)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
TE Darren Waller (12)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
P Jamie Gillan (6), OL Joshua Ezeudu (75)
TE Darren Waller (12)
TE Darren Waller (12)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
TE Darren Waller (12)
TE Darren Waller (12)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
TE Darren Waller (12), QB Daniel Jones (8)
TE Darren Waller (12), QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
P Jamie Gillan (6)
C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61), G Ben Bredeson (68), QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61), G Ben Bredeson (68), QB Daniel Jones (8)
P Jamie Gillan (6)
DL A'Shawn Robinson (91)
OL Joshua Ezeudu (75)
OL Joshua Ezeudu (75)
OL Joshua Ezeudu (75), K Graham Gano (9)
TE Darren Waller (12), WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
TE Darren Waller (12), WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
DL A'Shawn Robinson (91), DT DJ Davidson (98)
Brian Daboll Head Coach, QB Daniel Jones (8)
Brian Daboll Head Coach
Brian Daboll Head Coach, QB Daniel Jones (8)
Brian Daboll Head Coach
Brian Daboll Head Coach, QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
TE Darren Waller (12), QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
Brian Daboll Head Coach
QB Daniel Jones (8), TE Darren Waller (12)
Brian Daboll Head Coach
Brian Daboll Head Coach
K Graham Gano (9), Brian Daboll Head Coach
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
OLB Oshane Ximines (53), TE Darren Waller (12)
CB Deonte Banks (25)
OLB Oshane Ximines (53)
OLB Jihad Ward (55)
OLB Boogie Basham (45)
OLB Oshane Ximines (53)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
RB Gary Brightwell (23)
RB Matt Breida (31)
TE Darren Waller (12)
QB Daniel Jones (8), RB Saquon Barkley (26)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
Brian Daboll Head Coach
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58), S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19), ILB Micah McFadden (41)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58), S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19), ILB Micah McFadden (41)
RB Taiwan Jones (36)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
S Xavier McKinney (29), RB Taiwan Jones (36), S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
S Xavier McKinney (29), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5), RB Saquon Barkley (26), ILB Cam Brown (47)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
CB Deonte Banks (25)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
S Xavier McKinney (29), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5), RB Saquon Barkley (26)
G Ben Bredeson (68), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61), G Ben Bredeson (68)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
S Xavier McKinney (29), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5), RB Saquon Barkley (26)
TE Darren Waller (12)
S Xavier McKinney (29), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5), RB Saquon Barkley (26)
S Xavier McKinney (29), ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
Brian Daboll Head Coach
WR Darius Slayton (86)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
OL Joshua Ezeudu (75)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
S Jason Pinnock (27)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
WR Darius Slayton (86)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Eric Gray (20)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
S Dane Belton (24)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux
S Dane Belton (24)
S Dane Belton (24)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8), TE Darren Waller (12)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8), TE Darren Waller (12)
QB Daniel Jones (8), WR Parris Campbell (0)
TE Darren Waller (12)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
OL Evan Neal (73)
CB Adoree' Jackson (22)
CB Adoree' Jackson (22)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97)
CB Cor'Dale Flott (28)
RB Taiwan Jones (36)
S Jason Pinnock (27)
S Bobby McCain (21)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
OL Matt Peart (74)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
CB Tre Hawkins III (37)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
K Graham Gano (9)
OLB Boogie Basham (45)
S Xavier McKinney (29)
S Xavier McKinney (29)
OLB Boogie Basham (45)
S Xavier McKinney (29)
OLB Oshane Ximines (53)
CB Deonte Banks (25)
ILB Micah McFadden (41)
CB Deonte Banks (25)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
TE Lawrence Cager (83)
RB Eric Gray (20)
TE Darren Waller (12)
TE Darren Waller (12)
ILB Cam Brown (47)
RB Gary Brightwell (23)
WR Dennis Houston (88)
CB Nick McCloud (44)
CB Nick McCloud (44)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
ILB Carter Coughlin (52)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
OL Joshua Ezeudu (75)
OLB Jihad Ward (55)
CB Darnay Holmes (30)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
CB Adoree' Jackson (22)
S Dane Belton (24)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
TE Lawrence Cager (83)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
RB Eric Gray (20)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
TE Darren Waller (12)
S Bobby McCain (21)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97)
S Jason Pinnock (27)
WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
ILB Carter Coughlin (52)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
WR Parris Campbell (0)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
OLB Jihad Ward (55)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
CB Tre Hawkins III (37)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
RB Matt Breida (31)
DT DJ Davidson (98)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
K Graham Gano (9)
S Gervarrius Owens (39)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
TE Daniel Bellinger (82)
S Dane Belton (24)
P Jamie Gillan (6)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19)
S/ILB Isaiah Simmons (19), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5)
ILB Cam Brown (47)
TE Lawrence Cager (83)
RB Gary Brightwell (23)
CB Nick McCloud (44)
K Graham Gano (9)
G Ben Bredeson (68), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61)
TE Darren Waller (12), WR Jalin Hyatt (13)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches Sr (93)
S Bobby McCain (21), RB Matt Breida (31)
OLB Boogie Basham (45)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
ILB Bobby Okereke (58)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
DL Leonard Williams (99)
CB Deonte Banks (25)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
OL Matt Peart (74)
QB Daniel Jones (8)
QB Tyrod Taylor (2)
Ben Burress, QB Daniel Jones (8)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
WR Isaiah Hodgins (18)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
NT Dexter Lawrence II (97)
WR Sterling Shepard (3)
LS Casey Kreiter (59), P Jamie Gillan (6)
In the second half, Jones completed 17 of 21 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 59 yards and another score. Overall, he hit 26 of 37 for 321 yards, the two scores and one interception.
Barkley rushed for 63 yards on 17 carries, including a one-yard touchdown, and caught a six-yard scoring pass. Hodgins caught the game-tying 11-yard touchdown pass with 4:25 remaining. Darren Waller caught six passes. Rookie Jalin Hyatt's first NFL reception was probably the game's biggest play. Safety Jason Pinnock had 13 tackles (10 solo).
Despite the individual heroics, the Giants had an abysmal first half when they punted on their first three possessions and lost the ball when Jalen Thompson intercepted a Jones pass. Fittingly, Jones was sacked as time expired in the half, leaving the Giants in a 20-0 abyss – 60-0 in the season's first six quarters - heading to their locker room. Running back James Conner (four yards) and quarterback Joshua Dobbs (37) ran for touchdowns and Matt Prater kicked a pair of field goals.
"It can be a hole if you view it that way, because at the end of the day that's the score and the result of what the first half was," Waller said. "If you want to do something about what that looks like, it takes one individual play at a time. It doesn't take looking at the scoreboard, it doesn't take looking at the clock or worrying about what went wrong. If you handle individual plays, you'll put yourself back in a position because you're going to be doing things right. That's the approach we took."
The comeback began on the very first snap of the third quarter when Jones and Hyatt hooked up for a 58-yard completion to the Cardinals' 17-yard line. Two plays later, Jones ran around left end for a 14-yard touchdown.
Hyatt was dismayed in the season opening loss to Dallas after dropping the only pass thrown to him in his NFL debut.
"Big time play by Jalin (Hyatt) there, to make it, and it gave us some confidence and momentum going forward," Jones said.
"Last week, I didn't do what I wanted to do personally," he said. "I had a drop. Just the effort and everything I did in that game just wasn't there. With a new week, when I came into this game, I knew I had to change everything. My whole week of preparation was different. I actually was watching film 24/7 - seeing who we're playing. Not only that, DJ (Jones) always standing in my corner saying, 'We're going to get the ball to you, we're going to get the ball to you.' That's what he did, and I think that just goes back to our leadership."
The euphoria was interrupted on the next series when Arizona drove 75 yards and Dobbs threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown for a 28-7 Cardinals lead.
But the final 24 minutes of the game belonged to the Giants. On their next possession, they held the ball for six minutes before Barkley scored on a one-yard run.
The Giants faced a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. After forcing an Arizona punt, the Giants drove 80 yards in 13 plays, the last a third-and-nine Jones pass to Barkley, who caught ball inside the five and dove far enough for the ball to hit the pylon. With 8:51 remaining, it was 28-21 and the sizeable contingent of fans wearing Giants blue were in a state of delirium.
"(At halftime) we talked about adversity," wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. "We talked about if we got into another situation where we were facing adversity, that we're going to dig ourselves out. You only have one way to go when your back is against the wall, and that's either you sit there and just take it or fight your way out. So, that's what we all did. We made that pact together in the locker room at halftime and that's what we did."
They still had to complete the job. After forcing the Cards offense into a three-and-out, the Giants took possession at their own 36. Hyatt wrestled the ball away from cornerback Kei'Trel Clark for a 31-yard gain, setting up Jones' game-tying six-yard touchdown run. Um, not so fast. Right tackle Evan Neal was penalized for holding. No problem. Two plays later, Jones threw into the end zone for Hodgins, whose reception did tie the score at 28-28.
After two false start penalties, the Cardinals again punted. With 2:31 remaining, the Giants got the ball at their own 28. Barkley quickly gained 18 yards on a reception and a run. After the two-minute warning, Jones found Darius Slayton for an 18-yard gain. Barkley then ran for 16 yards to the 20.
Two plays later, Barkley was helped off the field with an ankle injury. He was replaced by Matt Breida, who advanced the ball five yards. Gano then came on to kick the 38-yard field goal, his ninth game-winning field goal in the final two minutes or overtime.
"It's nice to have some shorter game winners and a lot of ones I've had in the past have been 50, you know, 60-plus," Gano said. "The offense did a great job and the whole team did a great job the second half; we stepped up. I think there's just a level of confidence within the team and I'm so proud of those guys. It's exciting, definitely a great game for our team."
What was the little extra that got them over the top?
"Belief," Daboll said. "It's gotta happen. You've got to see tangible results. I think we have some mentally tough players on our team, and coaches. It's not always easy to be mentally tough when you're, whatever it is, 60 to nothing, after a game and a half. There's encouragement. There is detail, in what needs to get done. Screaming and yelling, I don't think that's the answer. But you definitely place an emphasis on what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, with confidence and sternness.
"All the credit goes to the players, the play callers, the assistant coaches. It was good to get this win. We made it hard, I'll tell you that. We made it hard."
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