Cardinals (1-2) vs. Giants (2-1) | Sunday | 1:05 p.m. | University of Phoenix Stadium

TV: Channel 10 (Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston); Radio: 92.3 KTAR-FM (Dave Pasch, Ron Wolfley, Paul Calvisi), 710 KBMB-AM (Gabriel Trujillo, Rolando Cantu). Latest line: Giants favored by 1.5.

Noteworthy: This week’s game between the Cardinals and Giants is the 125th meeting between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1926. It is the Cardinals’ third-oldest rivalry (Chicago, Green Bay) and the Cardinals have faced the Giants more times than any other NFL franchise. … Between 1950 and 2001, the Cardinals and Giants played twice a year (except in 1968 and 1982) as members of the NFC East before the Cardinals joined the NFC West in re-alignment.

The Arizona Republic

Read More: Brandon Jacobs (RB – NYG), Eli Manning (QB – NYG), Ahmad Bradshaw (RB – NYG), Beanie Wells (RB – ARI), O’Brien Schofield (LB – ARI), New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals

TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells was officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants with a hamstring injury after being limited in Friday’s practice. Apparently, however, coach Ken Whisenhunt saw enough of his lead ball carrier to say he believes Wells will be ready. 

“We’ll still work him out before the game, but I still feel very optimistic he’ll be able to play,” Whisenhunt said after Friday’s practice. 

Wells is the Cardinals’ leading rusher and his return would be a major boost for the 1-2 Cardinals, but the run game could also be bolstered by the return of backup RB LaRod Stephens-Howling, who has missed the past two games with a hand injury. Stephens-Howling was also limited in practice Friday and is listed as questionable. 

Whisenhunt said he also expects Stephens-Howling to be able to play this Sunday.

The Cardinals seek their first win since Week 1, and all of their games have been close. Whisenhunt said there are both teachable moments and frustration to be taken from the one-point loss at Washington and three-point loss at Seattle. 

“Very frustrating, because you have an expectation of being successful. Frustrating because we made some mistakes that kept us from being successful,” Whisenhunt said. “Those are things that you can fix. The only thing I can say of it is I hope we learn from it so that when we get in that situation again, we’ll be successful.

“If we make mistakes Sunday, it’ll be a tough day,” he added.

The Cardinals will be challenged by the Giants’ offense, with a cadre of banged-up but effective-when-able receivers. Quarterback Eli Manning has a lot of targets to which to throw, both inside and deep down the field. The Giants are also known for their power running game and two-headed running back system of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. 

“It’s going to be mano-a-mano and then you just have to be careful of Eli trying to throw the ball over your head,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton said. 

Horton also talked about how the staff helped linebacker O’Brien Schofield “get on the same page” by making him wear a wristband with defensive calls on it, like a quarterback with plays. 

“I explained to him, ‘Guys in Pittsburgh did the same thing, until they learned the defense,’” Horton said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just kind of a cheat sheet.”

Horton said Schofield had clarity of understanding what the coaches have been trying to tell him in the Seattle game last week. 

By Jason Catania

Fox Sports Sponsored Post

Week 4

Game: New York Giants (2-1) at Arizona Cardinals (1-2)

Date: Sunday, October 2

Time: 4:05 PM EST

Game of the Week Status

After looking terrible in their opening-game loss, the New York Giants have won two straight to save their start to the season, which is something the Arizona Cardinals are desperate to do following two straight defeats.

Previous Week

In Week 3, the Giants picked up a huge 29-16 win against the Philadelphia Eagles, an NFC East rival who had beaten New York six straight and came into the season with Super Bowl expectations.

The Giants, though, managed to exact some revenge for the brutal loss to Philly that kept them out of the playoffs late last season – otherwise known as DeSean-Jackson-punt-return-TD-on-the-final-play game – as the Eagles now sit at the bottom of the division, thanks to Eli Manning and New York’s defense.

Despite playing with a receiving corps limited by injuries to WRs Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon, the Giants quarterback threw four TD passes last week, including the first two scores of WR Victor Cruz’s career. And Big Blue’s D actually knocked Eagles QB Michael Vick out of the game for the second week in a row, this time with an injured hand after he came into the contest only days removed from suffering a concussion.

As satisfying as the Giants win was, the Cardinals loss was equally as crushing considering their opponent. Arizona lost their second straight game by three points or less with an embarrassing 13-10 defeat at the hands of the inept Seattle Seahawks on the road. Aside from an early TD catch by WR Larry Fitzgerald, the Cards’ offense didn’t do much of anything against a Seattle D that had allowed 33 and 24 points in the first two weeks.

New QB Kevin Kolb threw a pair of picks in his worst outing of the season so far, and Arizona managed just 90 rushing yards after having to dip all the way down to Alfonso Smith, their fourth-string running back, because starter Beanie Wells and backup LaRod Stephens-Howling were out with injuries and fill-in Chester Taylor struggled to get going. The all-around ugly performance cost the Cardinals a share of the NFC West lead.

What To Expect

The Giants return to the University of Phoenix Stadium, the site of their Super Bowl XLII championship, and will look to take advantage of a Cardinals defense that has been surrendering chunks of yardage at a time. In fact, Arizona ranks 27th in total yards allowed, and has been susceptible both on the ground (122.7 yards per game, 27th overall) and in the air (275 yards per game, 25th overall).

With the expected return to health of Manningham (concussion) and the emergence of Cruz in addition to top target Hakeem Nicks (team-bests of 14 catches and 185 yards), Manning will have plenty at his disposal in the passing game, and lead back Ahmad Bradshaw (4.4 yards per carry) is capable of teaming with battering ram RB Brandon Jacobs to balance out the Giants’ attack.

As for the defensive side, it’s looking like another injured Giant, DE Osi Umenyiora, may debut following offseason knee surgery, which would make New York’s front line – which already features fellow ends Jason Pierre-Paul, a blossoming second-year player with 4.5 sacks already, and veteran sack artist Justin Tuck – that much more imposing.

Coincidentally, if the Giants are going to slow down Fitzgerald, a five-time Pro Bowler who is Arizona’s top offensive threat, a lot of responsibility will fall on former Cardinals S Antrel Rolle, the franchise’ first-rounder back in 2005.

While Kolb will, no doubt, look Fitzgerald’s way often, it may in fact be the health of Wells’ lingering hamstring injury that has the biggest impact on the team. If their top back can’t go or is limited, the Cardinals will turn into a one-dimensional offense because of their lack of depth behind Wells.

For his part, though, Wells, who’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry in his two games, is confident he’ll be back this week, and Arizona will need him to make a few big plays. Same goes for the Cards’ defensive backfield, which includes three playmakers in safeties Adrian Wilson and Kerry Rhodes along with rookie CB Patrick Peterson, the fifth overall pick in last April’s draft.

Given Manning’s knack for making a few questionable throws over the course of a game, an interception or two in a key spot could turn the tide in this game – and the Cardinals’ season.

Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells(notes) didn’t play in the team’s loss last weekend to the Seattle Seahawks due to a hamstring injury, but head coach Ken Whisenhunt is “optimistic” that the 23-year-old will be back for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.

Wells “did more at practice Thursday, even ‘opening it up’ a little to test his bad left hamstring, but he was still limited,” according to AzCardinals.com.

Wells, a first-round pick in 2009 out of Ohio State, says he has never had a hamstring injury before, the site notes. “It sucks, but it’s a hamstring – what are you going to do about it,” Wells said, according to the site. “I couldn’t have avoided it in any type of way. I sat out last week to make sure I’d be safe for this week.”

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: AzCardinals.com

Related: Beanie Wells, Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks

While Eli Manning(notes) returns to the scene of his greatest triumph, Antrel Rolle(notes)
is back to face his former team.

Manning, Rolle and the New York Giants look for a third straight win Sunday
when they visit an Arizona Cardinals team entering off back-to-back close
losses.

The University of Phoenix Stadium will always be remembered by New York
(2-1) as the site of its Super Bowl XLII victory. Manning won MVP honors for
throwing two fourth-quarter touchdown passes in a 17-14 win over 18-0 New
England.

This time, though, Plaxico Burress(notes) won’t be around to catch the game-winning
TD and David Tyree(notes) won’t be there to trap one of Manning’s desperation heaves
against his helmet.

Then again, neither of them played for the Giants when the team visited
Arizona the following season, and Manning had another terrific game. He
completed 78.8 percent of his passes to mark a career high with at least 15
attempts, finishing 26 of 33 with three TDs in a 37-29 victory over the
Cardinals (1-2).

The veteran quarterback admits it’s a special place to him.

“I think it is, but once you get there it’s going to be, ‘Focus on the game
at hand and get ready for the Cardinals,’” he said. “Try to understand their
scheme and see what their game plan is going to be and go out there and just
play our game.”

Rolle also has pleasant memories of Arizona, having spent his first five
seasons there after being drafted eighth overall in 2005. The safety made his
first Pro Bowl with Arizona in 2009 after helping the franchise reach its first
Super Bowl the previous season, but he left for New York via free agency last
year.

“This is the first time for me because I have never had to face a team that
I was once with but I am going in there and playing the game at the end of the
day,” Rolle said. “I am going to go and be the same player that I am week in and
week out.”

Rolle will be counted upon to help slow down Larry Fitzgerald(notes) and a
Cardinals offense that struggled in last Sunday’s 13-10 loss at Seattle.
Fitzgerald had five catches and his second touchdown of the season, but new
quarterback Kevin Kolb(notes) threw two interceptions – one coming with Arizona driving
in the final minutes.

“You have to understand he’s in a completely different scheme than what he’s
used to running,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “He’s been in this scheme for a
very short time and we’re asking him to do things he’s never done before.”

The Cardinals managed a season-low 90 yards rushing as Beanie Wells(notes) sat out
with a hamstring injury. Wells had 183 yards through the first two games and
said he is “100 percent” certain he will play Sunday.

“It was one of those things where we were being extra cautious with it,”
Wells said. “You know how those things are, they can linger three, four, five
weeks and we didn’t want that at all.”

LaRod Stephens-Howling(notes), who excels on special teams for Arizona, will likely
be back after missing two games with a hand injury. Arizona lost 22-21 at
Washington before falling in Seattle.

The Giants also could be healthier, with receiver Mario Manningham(notes) returning
to practice Wednesday after he missed last Sunday’s 29-16 win at Philadelphia
due to a concussion.

Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora(notes) could make his season debut,
having practiced Wednesday for the first time since he had arthroscopic knee
surgery in early August.

The Giants have not missed Umenyiora too much since emerging defensive end
Jason Pierre-Paul(notes) has 4 1/2 sacks to tie for the league’s second-best total.

Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Tuck(notes) will likely play despite a strained groin
and neck stinger.

Without Manningham, New York got a boost last Sunday when Victor Cruz(notes) had
two touchdown receptions among his three catches for 110 yards.

The Giants lead the league in red-zone touchdown efficiency with TDs on five
of six drives. The Cardinals have been excellent defensively in the red zone,
ranking sixth by allowing four TDs in their opponents’ 11 trips.

“There is no doubt that they have been very good at it but we have been
pretty good when we have been in there, too,” said Manning, who matched a career
high with four TDs last week.

Manning has been sacked 10 times after being dropped 16 times all of 2010.
Arizona’s nine sacks are tied for seventh-best in the league.