Golden Tate had to wait four games to get back on the field, but when he got his chance in his New York Giants debut, he was quiet.
The veteran wide receiver recorded three receptions on six targets and 13 yards in Oct. 6's 28-10 loss against the Minnesota Vikings.
Despite a quick turnaround and another negative team result in Oct. 10's 35-14 loss to the New England Patriots, Tate took a big step in the right direction when he caught six passes on nine targets and broke out for 102 yards -- including a 64-yard touchdown.
Tate wants more for him and his teammates when Week 7 arrives with the Giants (2-4) hosting the Arizona Cardinals (2-3-1) Sunday at 1 p.m. from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Ten years into his NFL career, Tate told reporters Wednesday that he expects more out of himself.
The Giants have excuses between recent absences to key playmakers such as running back Saquon Barkley (ankle), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (concussion), tight end Evan Engram (knee) and running back Wayne Gallman (concussion), but Tate said that the offense needs better production than what it did with its past two performances.
"I wish I could have done a little bit more to help us win, there were some plays I wish I had back," Tate said Wednesday. "I had a decent performance personally, but I don't play the game for personal stats -- I play the game for the collective effort. Going home having 100 yards in a loss is not that fun. Going home having 30 yards and a win, I'm celebrating with everybody. That's just how I am built. I'm on year 10. I've done all the stats. I want to win."
The Cardinals provide an opportunity for big-play chances between rookie Daniel Jones and Tate -- and perhaps the playbook opens up further if Barkley and Engram do, in fact, return -- with the NFL's third-worst passing defense at 281.2 yards per game.
But at the same time, the Cardinals have proven and talented players from edge rusher Terrell Suggs in the front seven to cornerback Patrick Peterson on the back end.
A clean game from Jones is the right place to start for the Giants, but Tate feels the sense of urgency for the offense to help out its quarterback better than it did the past two games.
"I think we are just excited to get back on the field and get that bad taste out of our mouth from last Thursday night," Tate said. "We have another opportunity, we are back at home, we're excited. We are getting some guys back, which is important for us, and we just want to go out there and play a complete game. I think we know how good we can be, we just want to go out there and execute the fundamentals. Do the small things right that make a world of a difference. Today was the first day of practice, or I guess the second day of practice, but I thought guys flew around, were excited to be out there and we are looking forward to Sunday. Arizona is a good team. I never like to look at the records, they're a good team that has some good players. They are getting Patrick Peterson back. We have to play good defense, offense and special teams."