How to watch, what to watch for Cardinals vs. Giants in Week 14

The New York Giants are surging in the NFC East while the Arizona Cardinals are falling in the NFC West. The two squads will meet up this Sunday in New Jersey.

The Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when they went into Seattle as double-digit underdogs last week and beat the Seahawks, 17-12. New York and the Washington Football Team are tied for first place in the division at 5-7. Backup quarterback Colt McCoy wasn’t asked to do much with his 22 throws — and he didn’t. His 13 completions went for 105 yards and one touchdown. He also threw an interception. Running back Wayne Gallman was the real leader of the Giants’ offense as he gashed Seattle for a career-high 135 yards on 16 carries. However, he saw veteran RB Alfred Morris vulture him twice near the goal line. Tight end Evan Engram was McCoy’s favorite target. He caught four of eight targets for a team-high 32 receiving yards.

The Cardinals (6-6) have dropped three of their last four games. The latest was a 38-28 defeat at the hands of the Rams. Quarterback Kyler Murray threw for three touchdowns, but he also recorded fewer than 200 passing yards for the second straight week and committed two turnovers. More alarmingly, Murray ran for just 15 yards. He has now gained just 61 yards on the ground over his last three contests. Two of his touchdowns went to little-used tight end Dan Arnold. Oft-used wideout DeAndre Hopkins came away with an 8-52-1 line on 13 targets. RB Kenyan Drake paced Arizona’s backfield with 49 yards and a score on 10 totes.

TV Info

Date: Sunday, Dec. 13
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Broadcast map

Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)

Cardinals: #13 Overall — #11 offense, #12 defense, #25 special teams
Giants: #24 Overall — #26 offense, #17 defense, #9 special teams

DraftKings Sportsbook odds

Cardinals: -2.5, -137
Giants: +2.5, +115
Total: 45.5

Fantasy football start/sit advice

Cardinals

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, $7,600

Hopkins’ numbers are being capped by Murray, who has been fighting a shoulder injury recently. That has contributed to Nuk ending the past three games with no more than 55 receiving yards. That combined with his looming matchup against quality cornerback James Bradberry makes Hopkins a fade in cash games.

Kyler Murray, QB, $7,200

It’s also hard to argue that Murray is worth his price — the fifth-highest among QBs on the slate. He has run with the ball exactly five times in each of the past three games as the Cardinals appear to be designing plays that decrease his risk of getting hit. The Giants have allowed just two passing touchdowns in their previous three games.

Giants

Wayne Gallman, RB, $5,700

All Giants wideouts appear to be unusable until QB Daniel Jones returns from his hamstring injury. But his absence didn’t seem to bother Gallman against the Seahawks. Arizona has permitted four RB touchdowns in the past two weeks, and although he didn’t score in Week 13, Gallman has broken the plane six times in his last six games.

Evan Engram, TE, $4,300

The only encouraging number from Engram last week were those eight targets. He could have had a bigger game, but of course, he dropped a couple of passes. The Cardinals have permitted the sixth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends. With Colt McCoy not threatening anyone outside the numbers, Arizona’s defense might be able to place more attention on the athletic tight end.