Giants Bounce Back on Lowly Cardinals

This was just what the New York Giants needed--a cross-country trip away from their hometown critics and a game against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Kerry Collins completed 20 of 30 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown Sunday night as the Giants routed the depleted Arizona Cardinals, 31-7.

New York (8-4), in its most one-sided victory of the season, snapped a two-game skid and stayed a half-game behind first-place Philadelphia in the NFC East. Should the two teams finish tied for the division title, the Giants own the tiebreaker because they defeated the Eagles twice.

Home losses to Detroit and St. Louis had raised the pressure in one of the country’s toughest sports cities. Arizona was the perfect destination.

“I’ve never questioned this team, but I was interested in seeing how they came out and played because they were focused this week and they had the right mental attitude,” New York Coach Jim Fassel said. “The main thing for us is to go out with a sense of urgency in every game.”

With quarterback Jake Plummer out with bruised ribs and a sprained left thumb, Arizona (3-9) lost its third in a row to fall to 1-4 under interim Coach Dave McGinnis.

The Giants led 14-0 at the half and extended it to 21-0 when Tiki Barber ran 23 yards for a score with 6:24 left in the third quarter. A defensive holding penalty against Arizona’s Corey Chavous on fourth and six at the Cardinal 33 kept the scoring drive alive.

“We were playing fast, and quick and with confidence,” Collins said. “I think we came out and set the tone from the start.”

Former Giant starter Dave Brown, playing in place of Plummer, completed just six of 15 passes for 58 yards in the first half and fumbled the ball away at the New York 15. He also failed to get a play off in time twice early in the contest.

Brown, who won three in a row when Plummer was hurt last season, finished the game 18 for 36 for 192 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once.

Brown’s 36-yard screen pass to Michael Pittman for Arizona’s only score cut New York’s lead to 21-7 with 2:01 left in the third quarter.

“I think sometimes a handful of them don’t want it that bad,” Pittman said of his teammates. “You’ve got to want it that bad. When I ran that screen, I could have run out of bounds. I cut it back because I wanted that touchdown.”