Giants 37 Cardinals 29

No Brandon Jacobs, no problem.  No Plaxico Burress after the first series, no problem.  Faced with using a depleted offense on a day when they knew they would need to score, Big Blue barely missed a step.  If there is one thing we learned about this team it is that they have depth, and a lot of it. 

In the team's return trip to the site of their dramatic Super Bowl XLII win, Eli Manning was just as good.  He finished the day 26 of 33 for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns, with no interceptions.  The Cardinals tried with all their might to stop the Giants running game and Eli responded with a great performance.  He hadn't thrown for over 200 yards in the last five games, but on Sunday he was masterful.  Its amazing how much he spreads the ball around when Plaxico Burress doesn't play.  Because there are no more double teams on Plax, he has to go through more of his reads and find the open guy.  Five Giants receivers had at least four receptions, a balanced attack.  

While the defense was shaky at times, they held the Cardinals running game to almost nothing, which at least made defending the pass a little easier. They were able to get enough pressure on Warner to make him get rid of the baller quicker than he would have liked to on numerous occasions.  While it wasn't the best performance the Giants have had this year, it was certainly enough to get a big time road win with big playoff implications.  This is a Cardinals team that could be making a trip to Giants Stadium come January.  It would be much nicer to have Kurt Warner throw in the winter wind then in Arizona, but then again I think Eli would rather be in Arizona too.  

3 Things I Liked:

1. Dominik Hixon- The more times he touches the ball, the more he creates.  He had a fantastic day on kickoff returns, and he also finished with 6 catches for 57 yards.  Dominik Hixon needs to get some more reps.  Over 250 yards of combined offense, what a day.  

2.Derrick Ward- While he didn't get over the 100 yard plateau he had some big runs when needed and grinded all day.  He also added 4 catches for 30 yards as well.

3. Kenny Phillips- I know he had a penalty, but this guy is quickly becoming the center fielder the Giants have always needed.  He flies to the ball and can hit.  He knocked away a touchdown and finished with 7 tackles.  

Looking ahead to next week where the Giants will travel to Washington.  The Redskins are coming off of two weeks where they really didn't play all that well.  They got the win in Seattle, but didn't look that impressive.  The biggest thing will be stopping Clinton Portis, who has given the Giants fits in the past. This is a huge game because if the Giants win they will have a 4-0 divisional record.  A win against the Skins would just about ensure the division, except if the Cowboys win out and the Giants struggle the rest of the way.  

Hey I was wrong again with my pick. It has become a tradition for me to pick against them so why should i stop now?  As long as they keep winning I have no problem with being wrong.