Cardinals turned up heat with staunch defense

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants turned back the clock to late 2009 in front of a national audience.

The Cardinals (4-2) are starting a run similar to the one that carried them to the Super Bowl while the Giants (5-2) could be starting a swoon reminiscent of late last season.

Kurt Warner threw a touchdown pass, Arizona forced four turnovers and the Cardinals scored 21 points off mistakes by the usually reliable Jeff Feagles and Eli Manning in a 24-17 victory Sunday night.

The win was the third straight for the Cardinals, and it moved them a game ahead of San Francisco in the NFC West.

"Hopefully, we can gain confidence from this and make a run with it," said Warner, who threw for 231 yards. "It's still early, but we're playing our best football now, and everyone is feeding off each other. When something bad happens to us, we respond. And it doesn't get much better than to beat a team like this."

The Giants, who fell apart late last season after receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh, have lost two games in a row -- and played poorly in both. They were embarrassed by New Orleans last weekend and were stifled by the Cardinals' defense, which seemed to confuse Manning more than once.

"Yeah, we're concerned," defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. "I didn't like the way that went down out there. It is what it is. We definitely could have played a lot better, defensively and offensively. They just found a way to win the game, or we found a way to give them the game. I'm very disappointed today. We have to find a way to rebound and get back to where we were."

The victory was only the Cardinals' third in 18 visits to Giants Stadium, and this one was surprising because Arizona's defense made it happen more than Warner and star receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Adrian Wilson had an interception and a fumble recovery and fellow safety Antrel Rolle nailed down the win, stepping in front of a pass to Steve Smith to intercept Manning around the Cardinals' 21-yard line with 68 seconds to go.