Giants 36, Cardinals 24: Banks Goes 98 as Time Dies

October 4, 2026 - East Rutherford - Arizona had the ball at the 4. Twenty-two seconds. The Giants were up six because a 52-yard kick had just made it a touchdown-or-lose drive. Deonte Banks had already been flagged for interference on the play that got the Cardinals there.

Jacoby Brissett threw three incompletions. Then he threw a fourth. Banks caught it, turned, and ran 98 yards the other way as the clock hit zero. The New York Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-24. New York is 3-1 and 3-0 at MetLife. Arizona is 1-3.

Jameis Winston started because Jaxson Dart is hurt. He went 18 of 29 for 250 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He was sacked four times. It was his second win in a row in Dart's place, per the club. It was not pretty. It was enough.

14-3, then the building started answering

Arizona scored on the first two possessions. Brissett hit Marvin Harrison Jr. from 12 yards after eight plays and 58. Tyler Allgeier ran 22 yards on the next series. 14-3. The Cardinals averaged nine yards a carry in the first quarter, nine rushes for 81 yards, with Allgeier and rookie Jeremiyah Love sharing the work.

Dominic Zvada, the undrafted rookie who had accounted for every Giant point a week earlier against Tennessee, kept New York on the board: 39 yards, then 50. Winston found Malachi Fields from 12. The two-point try failed. 14-12. Two plays and 26 yards later, Malik Nabers was in from 25. 19-14. Chad Ryland answered from 60 as the half expired. 19-17.

Winston's first interception set that 60-yarder up. His second, to open the third quarter, set up Brissett to Elijah Higgins from 2. 24-19, Arizona. The Giants had trailed by 11. The last time they won a game after trailing by that much, the club said, was also against Arizona, in 2023.

Johnson, Harris, and a kick that forced a touchdown

Winston drove 76 yards. Theo Johnson, who had one catch on the season coming in, scored from 11. Najee Harris ran the two-point try in. 27-24. Zvada then hit from 52, his third make of the afternoon and the kick that turned Arizona's last possession into a must-score. The Giants said he is the first club rookie to make three 50-yard field goals in a season. He finished 3 of 3, from 39, 50, and 52, plus one extra point.

Banks had missed the previous two games with a calf injury. The interference flag put Arizona in the red zone. John Harbaugh said he thought you had to touch a receiver for it to be interference. The next four snaps belonged to Banks anyway: a breakup, then the 98-yard return. Budda Baker had already intercepted Winston once. Denzel Burke had another. It did not matter once the last throw went the other way.

Arvell Reese, the No. 5 pick, had his first career interception, nine solo tackles, three passes defensed, and a tackle for loss. Greg Newsome II had another pick. Tremaine Edmunds added a sack. New York finished with 319 yards. Arizona had 270. Brissett was 21 of 35 for 166, two scores, and three interceptions. Trey McBride caught seven for 31. Michael Wilson had seven for 95. Harrison's 12-yarder was his only catch.

Cam Skattebo ran 18 times for 58. Harris added nine for 30 and the conversion. Isaiah Likely caught seven for 66. Fields finished with two for 52 and that first career score. Braxton Berrios (foot), Jason Pinnock (concussion), and Chauncey Golston (neck) left and did not return, per the Giants.

Winston talked afterward about gratitude and 32 starting jobs. Harbaugh talked about praying on the sideline and about Banks not blinking after the flag. The 1986 championship team was in the building for a 40th anniversary. The coach said he was proud they watched a winning game even if it was not a perfect one.

The Eagles lost to the Rams earlier. The Giants sit alone on top of the NFC East through four weeks. Harbaugh is the sixth Giants head coach to start 3-0 at home, joining a list that starts with Roy Andrews in 1929. New York is 3-0 at MetLife for the first time since 2008. The club noted it made the playoffs the previous seven times it won its first three home games.

They visit Washington next. Mariota left that London game with a knee injury. Dart is still the long-term plan. Winston is the one who has won two in a row. Arizona hosts Detroit. Brissett's three picks, including the one that went 98 the other way, are the tape Mike LaFleur has to live with.

AthX Engine on a pick-six night

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Week 4 lines in. Banks' interception return is 63.00, the top total in this game, because the DB card pays takeaways. Newsome is 59.50. Reese is 51.50. Baker is 49.50. Edmunds is 43.00. Nabers is 37.00. Winston is 34.00. Zvada's three field goals are 31.00. New York's team line is 88.00.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a 3-0 home start built on late interceptions, and for a Cardinals offense that scored on the first two drives and then threw it away at the 4. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Nabers, Dart, McBride, Brissett, and both clubs on the marketplace. New York visits Washington on Oct. 11. Detroit visits Arizona that afternoon.

*Sources: Giants.com, Giants scoring summary, Instant analysis, ESPN recap. AthX Engine Week 4 lines scored from nflverse weekly stats (CC-BY 4.0). Information only; not financial advice.*