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EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- First, coach Jim Fassel watched his past and current quarterbacks fail. He then witnessed the exploits of a future star signal-caller the New York Giants could have had. Jake Plummer led three second-half scoring drives in place of Dave Brown and Kerry Collins was just average in his first start as New York's permanent quarterback as the Arizona Cardinals recorded a 34-24 victory over their NFC East rivals. Arizona (5-6) won its third straight game and completed its first season sweep of the Giants (5-6) since 1979. Plummer, who missed a month with a broken ring finger, started the second half for the ineffective Brown and completed 12-of-18 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. "It was awesome to get back our there. That's one thing about being injured, the guys kind of forget you and you're off to the side," Plummer said. "I like being out here mixing it up." The 42nd overall pick in the 1997 draft, Plummer was available when the Giants selected wide receiver Ike Hilliard in the first round and running back Tiki Barber in the second. Last season, he led Arizona to its first playoff appearance in 16 seasons. Today, Hilliard caught four passes for 72 yards and Barber tallied 37 yards on 15 carries as New York's offense stalled again. But Collins was the main culprit for the Giants, who suffered their third straight loss. "We turned the ball over a few times in the first few possessions and that hurt us a lot," Collins said. "We made some plays down the field, but we didn't make enough and we didn't do the little things consistently." He completed 22-of-45 for 298 yards -- most of that yardage was in the first half -- with one touchdown and three interceptions, including one that was returned 44 yards for a score by defensive tackle Eric Swann with 1:57 to play. "I think there were some things he could have done probably better," Fassell said of Collins. "Probably some of it was the wind, some of it was other guys doing some things. I don't think he was in sync and I don't hink there were other guys doing some things to help him along. It took us a while to get rolling." Brown, who spent the first six seasons (1992-97) of his career with the Giants, was 11-of-17 for 126 yards. "Terrible, just terrible," said Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn. "Especially when you expect a little bit more from yourself than that. It didn't matter who was back there, they did better than we did." Trailing 10-6 at halftime, it took Plummer just 3:10 of the third quarter to give the Cardinals the lead as he hit Rob Moore for a two-yard touchdown pass to cap a five-play drive. On the first play of the final period, he connected with tight end Johnny McWilliams on a nine-yard score that made it 20-10. "I thought Dave played all right in the first half," said Cardinals coach Vince Tobin. "I thought he played pretty well as a matter of fact. But as I said before, I think as the head coach, you've got to have feelings and do what you think is best for your football team. I just felt like Jake is our No. 1 quarterback." "I was surprised (to get pulled)," Brown said. "I sat down with Vince on Tuesday and he said if I played well and we won that I'd probably start again next week. It was frustrating. I can certainly understand it. He's the starter and they wanted to go with him." Moore led Arizona's dangerous receiving trio, which includes Frank Sanders and David Boston, with seven catches for 102 yards. "I just got some opportunities to make some plays today, and believe me, it hasn't been that way all year," said Moore. "I was able to make some plays today and they just kept coming to me." The Giants came right back and cut the deficit to three on Sean Bennett's one-yard TD plunge, but Cary Blanchard committed a huge mistake by booting the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving Arizona possession at its own 40-yard line. Plummer took advantage, driving the Cardinals 60 yards in nine plays before Mario Bates barreled his way for a two-yard touchdown to put Arizona on top, 27-17. Swann's interception return moments later sealed the victory for the Cardinals. "I just thank God," Swann said. "You know he spoke to me during my dreams last night and said something special was going to happen." Collins was at his best in the second quarter, when he directed two scoring drives. His one-yard sneak gave New York a 7-3 lead midway through the second quarter and Blanchard capped a perfectly-executed last-minute drive by kicking a 24-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half that made it 10-6 in favor of the Giants. "The difference between winning and losing is consistency," Giants offensive lineman Scott Gragg said. "We can't take two quarters to get rolling. We have to put points on the board at least every other time. We can't turn the ball over and that definitely played a major factor."
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