Jameis Winston still has his fastball. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson showed Sunday that he has one, too.
John Harbaugh’s Giants won their second straight, 36-24, over the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium to improve to 3-1 and move into sole possession of first place in the NFC East for the first time since Nov. 2015.
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.
“That’s like something you dream of,” Banks said of his first interception since Nov. 2023.
It marked the Giants’ second straight win by making a goal line stand, after Jevon Holland’s interception in the end zone on the Titans’ Cam Ward in Week 3.
Banks was nearly the game’s goat, getting called for a pass interference penalty in the final minute to give Arizona first and goal at the 4-yard line before the defense stood tall. Harbaugh raved about Banks.
“These are fun when they go this way,” the coach said of the dramatic win.
Then Harbaugh took a shot at the officials.
“I thought you had to touch the guy for it to be pass interference,” the coach said with some snark.
This is exactly the kind of snarl, attitude and results the Giants were looking for when they hired Harbaugh in January. They have started 3-0 at home for the first time since 2008.
Now they’ll 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.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Deonte Banks, right, celebrates his interception returned for a touchdown against the Cardinals with Greg Newsome II, left, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“It’s an opportunity,” Harbaugh said of being in first place. “The idea is to get the lead and extend the lead during the game and during the season. So we’re in good position four games in, but it’s only four games in. It gives us an opportunity to go down there in Washington and try and play our best football game. But we can play so much better. And that’s what we’ll be chasing.”
It will help their cause immensely if Winston continues to find the end zone like he did Sunday.
He completed 18 of 29 passes for 250 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, staving off some early first half fan chants for newly-acquired quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was active for the game.
Malik Nabers (six catches, 112 yards), Malachi Fields and Theo Johnson all caught TD passes.
“I’m heating up,” Winston said. “Last week I was questioning if I can even throw. This week I got people talking about the Jameis Winston experience again.”
And Wilson’s Giants defense got after Brissett, forcing three interceptions to Banks, corner Greg Newsome II and rookie linebacker Arvell Reese, who had a monster game.
“He’s playing out of his mind,” Abdul Carter said of Reese, who had a team-high nine tackles, one tackle for a loss, the interception and three passes defended, including a QB hit on Brissett that forced the other pick to Newsome.
“It’s just being in the moment,” Reese said, “being poised and have that win the game mentality on defense.”
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 drop backs and pressured him on 38.5% of his throws.
Harbaugh’s team gained control of the game in the second half despite Winston throwing an interception on the first drive out of halfitme. That set up a Cardinals go-ahead 2-yard Brissett touchdown pass to tight end Elijah Higgins 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. Although running back Najee Harris fumbled later near midfield, the defense held Arizona scoreless for the final 27 minutes and 20 seconds of the game.
“They were heating us up pretty good,” said Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur, part of the brain trust that picked running back Jeremiyah Love No. 3 overall in April instead of Reese.
The Giants recovered impressively from a 14-3 deficit at the start of the game 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 and setting up Higgins’ TD catch for the 24-19 Cardinals lead.
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 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 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 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 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.
Elsewhere in the NFC East, meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles fell to 2-2 by coughing up a late lead to the Los Angeles Rams. The Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Houston Texans still only has them at 2-2, ahead of the last place Commanders.
So there are the Giants at the top of the table in early October.
“It’s good,” Nabers said. “We still got a lot more wins, a lot more games to be played. So let’s hope we can keep it on top at number one.”
