Steve Keim should give Dave Gettleman hope.
The Cardinals’ maligned GM received so much rope from Arizona owner Michael Bidwill that he was allowed to use top-10 picks in back-to-back years on quarterbacks, eventually landing No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray in 2019.
The Giants’ Daniel Jones has shown way more promise than 2018 Cardinals draft bust Josh Rosen, obviously. And Jones was far from 100% healthy returning to start Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium.
However, way before Jones’ right hamstring had him hobbling and almost completely immobile, Jones was subpar and frustratingly ineffective in a 26-7 loss to the slumping Cardinals.
The warts on the Giants’ offensive line and roster were again exposed in dramatic fashion with his mobility limited, as Cardinals edge rusher Haason Reddick, originally from Camden, N.J., racked up a stunning five sacks.
The Cardinals’ Murray, meanwhile, was dynamic and showed off a cannon arm for 244 yards and a TD, just three weeks removed from an ACL sprain in his throwing shoulder. He had 47 yards rushing, but did more of his damage throwing the ball.
A stingy Giants defense, fighting bad field position and their own inept offense all day, was all that stood in the way of this being a 45-7 loss.
So the midseason crowning of the Giants and the revisionist history of Gettleman’s tenure in New York will have to be put on hold for now, unfortunately.
Jones, Gettleman’s No. 6 overall pick last year, leads the NFL with 37 turnovers since the start of his rookie 2019 season after another sack fumble Sunday. Jones fumbled three times and lost one.
A win is not in the card for Giants quarterback Daniel Jones Sunday against the Cardinals. (Noah K. Murray/AP)
He managed a third-quarter touchdown drive to avoid a shutout, but Jones’ play and his hamstring got so bad that Joe Judge replaced him with Colt McCoy with 2:34 remaining.
Clearly, based on how Jones was moving, he shouldn’t have played at all.
Jones has used his legs often this season to escape, but relegated to a pocket passer on Sunday, he was a complete non-factor despite having the ball in his hands every play.
The Giants (5-8) had a four-game winning streak snapped and awaited the result of Sunday afternoon’s Washington (5-7) game against the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants have the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys remaining on their schedule as they battle with Washington at the top of the sorry NFC East. Washington will finish with the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles.
The Cardinals (7-6) snapped a three-game losing streak. Reddick finished with a crazy stat line as rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas and the entire O-line came back down to earth from the previous week’s win in Seattle.
Reddick had five sacks, six QB hits, three forced fumbles and two tackles for losses, including a game-sealing sack fumble of McCoy.
