Kanell Has Good Time, Good Game

The New York Giants finally played like NFC East champions again. That’s par for the course, though, when the Arizona Cardinals come to town.

Danny Kanell passed for a career-high 259 yards and three touchdowns and the anemic and under-fire Giant offense gained a season-high 390 yards in defeating the Cardinals, 34-7, on Sunday.

“I feel great, it feels like a weight has been lifted off the offense’s shoulders, for at least a couple of weeks anyway,” said Kanell, who completed 22 of 36 passes and did not turn the ball over. “It’s been a rough go the last few weeks. I’ve been miserable. I hate losing. I don’t want to go to work when we’re not doing well.”

The defense also contributed as the Giants (3-4) ended a two-game losing streak and handed the Cardinals (3-4) their 14th loss in the last 15 games at Giants Stadium.

“There could be no more playing sloppy, no more losing,” Coach Jim Fassel said of a slide during which the Giants lost four of five games. “I think we were ready and we had to be. I think this was more about us getting our mental edge. We never lost our focus.”

Fassel delivered an unusual message on Saturday night during the team meeting. He told the players to forget about the must-win nature of the game and go out and have fun.

Both sides of the ball did.

Defensive tackle Robert Harris got 2 1/2 of the Giants’ eight sacks, which matched their season high, and the Cardinals were limited to 194 yards. Jake Plummer, who was intercepted twice and lost a fumble, led the Cardinals on one sustained drive before being replaced late in the game by former Giant Dave Brown, who was booed loudly by the few fans still in the stadium.