NEW YORK GIANTS (0-1) at ARIZONA CARDINALS (0-1)
Sunday, 4 p.m. EDT, Fox
BETTING LINE: Giants by 6, according to FanDuel Sportsbook
AGAINST THE SPREAD: New York 0-1; Arizona 1-0.
SERIES RECORD: New York leads 80-46-2.
LAST MEETING: Cardinals beat Giants 26-7 on Dec. 13, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J.
LAST WEEK: Giants lost to Cowboys 40-0; Cardinals lost to Commanders 20-16.
GIANTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (11), PASS (32), SCORING (32)
GIANTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (25), PASS (8), SCORING (32)
CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (16), PASS (28), SCORING (22)
CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (13), PASS (12), SCORING (14)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Giants minus-3; Cardinals plus-1.
GIANTS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Saquon Barkley. The 26-year-old running back gained 51 carries on 12 carries and caught three passes for 12 yards in a game where he had one carry in the second half after the Giants fell behind 26-0. He has looked good in training camp, so expect him to do more against the Cardinals.
CARDINALS PLAYER TO WATCH: LB Dennis Gardeck had two sacks against the Commanders, including a strip-sack that led to a touchdown. Gardeck is a six-year veteran who signed as an undrafted free agent and has slowly become an important part of the team's defense.
KEY MATCHUP: The Giants offensive line will try to bounce back after allowing QB Daniel Jones to get beat up last weekend. Their poor performance led to just 171 yards for New York. The Cardinals' pass rush was better than expected in Week 1 with six sacks by five different players and three forced turnovers.
KEY INJURIES: Giants LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring) didn't practice on Wednesday. K Graham Gano (ankle) and rookie CB Deonte Banks (calf) are among other New York players dealing with minor injuries. ... The Cardinals still must play at least three more games without franchise QB Kyler Murray (knee), who is on the PUP list. DL L.J. Collier (biceps), OL Kelvin Beachum (hand), RB James Conner (calf) and DL Leki Fotu (shoulder) are also dealing with injuries. Collier didn't practice on Wednesday while the others were limited.
SERIES NOTES: This is the 129th time the two teams have met in a series that goes back to 1926 and the Cardinals have faced the Giants more than any other franchise. Arizona has a 7-3 record in the series since the franchise joined the NFC West. The Cardinals have won four straight and five of the past six.
STATS AND STUFF: The Giants are coming off the most one-sided opening day loss in their history. The old mark was 35-0 against the Cowboys on Sept. 4, 1995. ... The 40-point defeat was the Giants’ largest in the regular season since Nov. 4, 1973, 42-0 to the Raiders. They lost an NFC divisional playoff game on Jan. 5, 1994, in San Francisco 44-3. ... New York was shut out for the first time since a 17-0 loss to Tennessee at home on Dec. 16, 2018. ... Daniel Jones was sacked seven times and hit 12 times in the loss. ... Saquon Barkley has run for a TD six times in the past seven road games. ... TE Darren Waller had three catches for 36 yards in his Giants debut. ... DT Dexter Lawrence had four tackles and two of the three hits against Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. New York did not have a sack. ... Second-year ILB Micah McFadden led the Giants with 10 tackles. He also had one on special teams. ... First-round pick Deonte Banks had two pass breakups in his first start. ... Gano had a field-goal attempt blocked and returned for a TD and missed a 36-yard attempt. ... Cardinals TE Zach Ertz caught nine passes for 91 yards and two TDs in his previous game against the Giants, which came when he was still a member of the Eagles. ... Brothers Azeez and B.J. Ojulari will face each other for the first time in their NFL careers. Azeez was taken 50th overall by the Giants in 2021 while B.J. was drafted 41st by the Cardinals last spring. ... LB Zaven Collins became the first Cardinals player since 2017 to have an interception and a fumble recovery in the same game. ... The Cardinals have an 11-5-1 record in home openers at State Farm Stadium, which opened in 2006. ... K Matt Prater has made 72 field goals from at least 50 yards during his NFL career, which is a record. He hit a 54-yarder in last week's game vs. the Commanders.
FANTASY TIP: Ertz loves to play against the Giants. The tight end has caught at least one touchdown pass in his past five games against New York, though all of those came during his time with the Eagles.
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