Giants seal second straight win on Deonte Banks pick-six to beat Cardinals

Pat Leonard, New York Daily News on Oct 4, 2026

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — Jameis Winston still has his fastball. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson showed Sunday that he has one, too.

John Harbaugh’s New York Giants won their second straight, 36-24, over the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium to improve to 3-1.

And they did it by attacking on both sides of the ball, culminating in a 98-yard pick-six by corner Deonte Banks of Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett on the Cardinals’ last fourth and goal gasp.

It marked the Giants’ second straight win by making a goal line stand, after Jevon Holland’s interception in the end zone on the Tennessee Titans’ Cam Ward in Week 3.

Banks was nearly the game’s goat, getting called for a pass interference penalty in the final minute that gave Arizona the ball at the 4-yard line before the defense stood up.

The Giants now go on the road next Sunday to reeling NFC East rival Washington (1-3) with a chance to improve to 2-0 in the division and win a third straight.

Winston completed 18 of 29 passes for 250 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, staving off some early first half fan calls for newly-acquired QB J.J. McCarthy. Malik Nabers (six catches, 112 yards), Malachi Fields and Theo Johnson all caught TD passes.

And Wilson’s Giants defense got after Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett, forcing two interceptions to corner Greg Newsome II and rookie linebacker Arvell Reese, who had a monster game.

Wilson’s Giants defense entered the game with the NFL’s third-worst quarterback pressure rate (28.2%) and an average 32.8% blitz rate, per NFL NextGen Stats. On Sunday, they blitzed Brissett on 53.8% of his dropbacks and pressured him on 38.5% of his throws.

Harbaugh’s team gained control on Sunday despite Winston throwing an interception in the early third quarter to set up a Cardinals go-ahead touchdown for a 24-19 deficit at 7:20 of the third quarter.

Winston redeemed himself by threading an 11-yard TD pass to tight end Theo Johnson with 1:44 to play in the third quarter for a 27-24 lead. Running back Najee Harris fumbled later near midfield, but the defense held Arizona scoreless for the final 27 minutes and 20 seconds of the game.

The Giants recovered impressively from an early 14-3 deficit to take a 19-17 lead into halftime, but they should have been up eight.

Winston threw an interception to Cardinals corner Denzel Burke at the Arizona 25-yard line with 23 seconds remaining and the Giants up, 19-14. He should have been setting up another Zvada field goal for a 22-14 halftime lead.

Instead, Brissett hit Michael Wilson downfield for a 24-yard gain. Wilson got out of bounds. And Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland crushed a 60-yard field goal through the uprights to narrow the deficit to two at the break.

Winston then compounded that mistake with another interception on the first possession of the second half to Cardinals safety Budda Baker, giving Arizona the ball on the Giants’ 37-yard line.

Brissett then punched in a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Elijah Higgins for a 24-19 Cardinals lead with 7:20 to play in the third quarter.

The Giants had fallen behind quickly to start the game, 14-3, as the Cardinals offense gashed them on the ground for 81 yards and a touchdown on their first nine carries.

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s 12-yard TD catch gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead at 11:08 of the first. Then some boos rained down on the defense as Tyler Allegeier broke tackle attempts from Deonte Banks and Tyler Nubin for a 22-yard TD and a 14-3 lead with 3:05 left in the opening quarter.

The Cardinals ran the ball five straight times for a total of 54 yards to finish that drive with rookie Jeremiyah Love and Allgeier.

Fortunately, the Giants defense picked themselves off the mat with two interceptions by Newsome and Reese in Arizona’s next three offensive drives. It helped that Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur inexplicably abandoned the run, calling only two run plays on those three drives.

Zvada sank a 50-yard field goal to make it 14-6. Winston hit rookie Fields from 12 yards out for his first NFL touchdown catch with 4:30 to play in the second quarter, drawing within 14-12.

Then Shelby Harris batted a Brisset pass into Reese’s hands for his first NFL interception and an 8-yard return to Arizona’s 26-yard line. And Winston capitalized two plays later with a 25-yard TD pass to Nabers for the wideout’s first touchdown of the season at 2:24 of the second.

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