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Strong fourth leads Cardinals over Giants

Sep 14, 2014 - 11:52 PM East Rutherford, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - Ted Ginn Jr.'s 71-yard punt return for a touchdown highlighted a dominant fourth quarter by the Arizona Cardinals in a 25-14 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.

Arizona (2-0) forced three turnovers along with Ginn's TD in the fourth as New York did everything in its power to hand the game away.

"I commend my other 10 guys, first off," Ginn said of the return. "Without them, there's no me. But you know, it was just that point of time where we needed a play, and I just went out and I just tried to make the best play that I can, and it turned out to be a touchdown."

Drew Stanton, making his first start since 2010 in place of Carson Palmer, managed the Cardinals offense on 14-of-29 passing for 167 yards.

Palmer, who was listed as questionable throughout the week, missed the contest due to a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder.

Andre Ellington rushed for 91 yards and Jonathan Dwyer ran for a touchdown in the win.

Eli Manning finished with 277 yards on 26-of-39 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Giants (0-2), who have lost seven straight games in the month of September.

"We'll find a way to win some tight (games) and make some plays," said Manning. "There is still definitely improvements."

On the Giants' third drive of the second half, a 25-yard pass interference penalty on Patrick Peterson set up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Daniel Fells, giving New York a 14-10 lead late in the third.

The touchdown pass was Manning's 232nd of his career, tying Steve Young for 22nd on the all-time list.

Arizona proceeded to outscore New York 15-0 in the final quarter to secure a road win in an encore performance from Monday's 18-17 come-from-behind victory over San Diego in the season opener.

A 13-play, 74-yard drive on the Cardinals' ensuing possession resulted in a 37-yard field goal from Chandler Catanzaro to trim the deficit to 14-13 early in the fourth.

Following a three-and-out from the Giants due in large part to a dropped pass by Victor Cruz, Ginn broke Zack Bowman's initial tackle and bolted up the seam for the go-ahead score. Dwyer couldn't convert the two-point conversion as the visitors held a 19-14 lead.

Another special teams blunder, a fumble by Quintin Demps on the kickoff, led to Catanzaro's third field goal of the day.

New York then drove to the Cardinals' 17, but Rashad Jennings fumbled when he tripped over his own feet and the ground jarred the ball loose.

Catanzaro added a 33-yard kick for good measure later in the frame to account for the final margin. Manning tossed an interception in garbage time and Arizona ran out the remaining clock.

"We had an opportunity, we let it slip. There is no one to blame but ourselves," Giants coach Tom Coughlin lamented.

Stanton shook off any rust that accumulated over the past few years by leading the Cardinals on an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive to open the game. The signal caller hit Larry Fitzgerald for 17 yards on 3rd-and-10 before Ellington ripped off a 22-yard run to the Giants' 22. Stanton was then sacked two plays later to set up a daunting 3rd-and-17.

Although Arizona was flagged for delay of game, an unnecessary roughness penalty on Jameel McClain as the whistles sounded advanced the Cardinals into the red zone. Fitzgerald caught a Stanton pass at the goal line, stretched into the end zone and officials ruled it a touchdown, but video review showed Fitzgerald's left knee touching the turf before the ball crossed the plane. Dwyer followed by punching it in for a 7-0 lead.

Manning's 100th interception since 2009 on the Giants' opening possession led to a successful 49-yard field goal by Catanzaro.

Arizona appeared to force another turnover on New York's next series after Manning fumbled. However, Jerraud Powers was called for illegal contact, keeping the drive alive. New York eventually punted.

Just before the midway point of the second, Manning and the Giants embarked on a 13-play, 90-yard scoring drive spanning 7:13 that Rueben Randle capped with a highlight-reel catch. Randle hauled in the 7-yard TD by tipping the ball up in the air with his right hand before gaining control and tip-toeing inbounds to get New York on the board prior to halftime.

Game Notes

The game represented the 125th all-time meeting between the Cards and Giants in a series that dates back to 1926. New York fell to 80-43-2 all-time against Arizona ... Cardinals defensive back, Tyrann Mathieu, made his season debut after he tore both his ACL and MCL last December ... New York went 6-for-12 on third down, while Arizona went 5-for-13 ... Fitzgerald had six catches for 51 yards ... Giants tight end Larry Donnell led all receivers with 81 yards on seven receptions.