Getty Image / Christian Petersen
Coming into the season, many thought the Arizona Cardinals had a good chance of picking first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft due to a bad roster and an injury to quarterback Kyler Murray that is set to keep him out for a significant portion of the season. And, their incredible collapse on Sunday after leading the Giants 20-0 at halftime only reinforced the idea that they are tanking for a high draft pick.
It was two halves of football as different as anyone could imagine.
The Cardinals outgained the Giants by over 200 yards in the first half en route to a 20-0 lead at halftime that quite frankly wasn’t as close as the score suggested.
That meant the New York Giants had been outscored an astounding 60-0 in the first three halves of football. They had looked like the worst team in football by far in the small sample size.
But, things changed in a big way in the second half. The Giants looked like a completely different team en route to racking up over 350 yards of offense in the half, and stormed all the way back to win, 31-28.
THE BIGGEST @Giants COMEBACK IN OVER 75 YEARS!
Sealed by a Graham Gano Field Goal 😤🏴 #NYGiants pic.twitter.com/9thUX3lWMK— NFL UK (@NFLUK) September 17, 2023
The win probability chart was wild.
if you squint closely enough the cardinals win probability graph resembles the shape of an upside down *tank* pic.twitter.com/8q9Cy8YhK4
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) September 17, 2023
That’s a classic tank performance if I’ve ever seen one. Play great for a half, young players get some beneficial reps, but ultimately lose. And, NFL fans are on to them.
Cardinals are perfecting the tank
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) September 17, 2023
I have to hand it to them — through two weeks, this has been an absolutely exquisite tank job by the Cardinals.
Can’t do it any better.
— Mike Kennedy (@MikeKennedyNFL) September 17, 2023
The tank execution by the Cardinals is immaculate. Give the fans great football in the first half, and secure the loss for draft position in the second half🤌🤌🤌
— Austen Ruddle (@Austenr02) September 17, 2023
This is an impressive tank performance by the Arizona Cardinals. Committed to the cause
— Nick (@FWBluesFan) September 17, 2023
Cardinals with the most obvious tank job in NFL history
— Jakob (@j_cordova98) September 17, 2023
i respect the Cardinals tank.
— G5 (@ScameroNewton) September 17, 2023
Respect to the Cardinals, who drop to 0-2 with two competitive losses under Jonathan Gannon.
They host the Cowboys next week, while the Giants play in San Francisco on Thursday night.