The Cardinals snapped a two-game losing streak during a Week 5 visit to face the Jets at MetLife Stadium and they snapped another losing jag at the same spot this Sunday.
Arizona had lost three straight games heading into Week 14, but they found their groove in a 26-7 victory over the Giants. The win snapped the Giants’ four-game winning streak and puts them in position to fall out of first place in the NFC East if Washington beats the 49ers.
The Cardinals are now 7-6 and in the thick of the race for a playoff spot in the NFC. They’ll return home to continue that push against the Eagles in Week 15.
Kyler Murray and company got off to a slow start offensively as they were held to six points on their first three red zone trips, but they got into the end zone before the end of the first half and stretched their lead to 20-0 on a one-yard Kenyan Drake touchdown run in the third quarter. The Giants got on the board on the ensuing drive, but the Cardinals Defense reclaimed control from there.
They would sack Daniel Jones six times before he departed with just under three minutes to play. Jones didn’t appear to suffer a new injury, but he looked far less mobile than usual in his return from the hamstring injury that kept him out in Week 13.
Haason Reddick had three of those sacks and added two more once Colt McCoy was in the game. Reddick is the first player with a five-sack game this season.
Jones finished 11-of-21 for 127 yards and never ran the ball. Murray did get back to running the ball after a few weeks of limited work in that phase. He ran 10 times for 52 yards while completing 24-of-35 passes for 244 yards. Nine of those completions went to DeAndre Hopkins, who finished with 136 yards.
That may not push the Cardinals all the way over the wall offensively, but that balance is a good place to start.