The Giants.com crew members give their takeaways from Sunday's 36-24 victory over the Cardinals.

John Schmeelk: I'm going to bounce around a little bit this week. A few notes I picked up on after going through the All-22 and looking at some of the advanced stats:

* One of the major adjustments from Dennard Wilson in this game was the increase in the number of blitzes and man defense in those situations. According to Next Gen Stats, the Giants blitzed on 54 percent of their snaps and played man on 56 percent of their snaps, both of which were season highs. I am curious to see if this something that will be unique to the Cardinals game or something the Giants will lean into more with the loss of Brian Burns.

* The Giants cornerbacks did will in their man defense. Arizona's wide receivers caught just eight passes for 107 yards in the game, and had two interceptions, including Deonte Banks' game-winning pick-six. Banks' physicality jamming at the line of scrimmage took away the slant and put him in the perfect position between the receiver and the quarterback to get the interception.

* The Cardinals ran the ball for 81 yards on their first two drives and averaged just over 10 yards per carry. After those first two drives, the Cardinals ran it 16 times for 42 yards. John Harbaugh said after the game that the team made some adjustments to their run defense and it certainly paid dividends the remainder of the game.

* The Giants had only two pass plays of 20 or more yards heading into Week 4. They had five completions of 25 or more yards against Arizona alone. Nabers had three of those catches, his three longest of the season. It should be no surprise the Giants got the ball back in the end zone when they began making explosive plays again.

Dan Salomone: When you get a game ball, you need to say a few words in the postgame locker room. Dominic Zvada was the first one up late Sunday afternoon. Surrounded by teammates, coaches and staffers, the undrafted rookie said he was "blessed to play a small part in this operation."

The team quickly corrected him. He played a "huge" role.

Arizona isn't in a touchdown-or-lose situation at the end of the game if Zvada, who accounted for all 12 of the Giants' points in the previous week's win, doesn't make his second 50-yarder of the day with 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. Without it, the Cardinals could have sent the game to overtime. The trajectory of that game – and the Giants' season – could have gone in a different direction.

Instead, it went straight through the uprights.

"Came up big, man," coach John Harbaugh said of Zvada, who is perfect on the season while becoming the first Giants rookie make at least three field goals of 50 yards or more. "I mean, that kid's doing a great job, but he's going to be thinking about the next kick."

Matt Citak: There were numerous players on the defensive side of the ball who stepped up in a big way, including several members of the secondary. But my focus is going to revolve around two players from the front seven who put on a show against the Cardinals, starting with Arvell Reese. He may only be four games into his NFL career, but over the last two weeks, the rookie linebacker has looked like a seasoned pro. He finished with nine solo tackles, which catapulted him into first place on the league leaderboard in solo tackles, while also notching his first career interception. Additionally, he added one tackle for loss and three passes defensed.

Reese became the first Giants rookie since tackles were first officially tracked in 1994 to record nine tackles, three passes defensed and an interception in a game, and was only the third rookie in the NFL to do so since 2010 (and the first linebacker). Still only 21 years old, Reese found a way to make an impact in coverage, as a run defender and as a pass rusher, showcasing a little bit of everything that made him the No. 5 overall pick in this year's draft. His play led to him being named both the Rookie and Defensive Player of the Week by Pro Football Focus.

"He was all over the field again," coach John Harbaugh said after the game. "He played great. I could have given him, he may get a game ball yet for defensive player of the game. I don't know, but he had an interception, had numerous, numerous tackles again. He has really taken off."

"It's just being in the moment," Reese added on how he was able to play so well Sunday. "Being poised and knowing, having that win the game on defense mentality. Just trying to show up, play for the person beside me. Not playing selfishly, trying to show up for the person beside me."

While it's easy to point at Reese's final stat line to showcase his impact, Abdul Carter's goes beyond the traditional box score.

Carter racked up three quarterback hits on Jacoby Brissett, and according to Next Gen Stats, Sunday was one of the best games of the second-year edge rusher's NFL career. Carter generated a career-high nine pressures on 37 pass rushes, eight of which were quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds). This was the most quick pressures any player has recorded in a game this season. Brissett finished just six of 12 for 53 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions when pressured, most of which came from Carter. On top of that, Carter's 14 pass rush wins were the most by a player in a game this season. When looking at the tape from the game-winning goal line stand, Carter was in Brissett's face on all four plays. The sacks may not have been there, but Carter was incredibly impactful in the pass rush.