Giants beat Cardinals on game-ending pick-six to move to 3-1

On a day when many of the 1986 Super Bowl champions were on hand to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their title, the Giants walked-off with a pick-6 to play proper homage.

Deonte Banks — whose NFL career looked dead in June — rebounded from a key defensive pass interference penalty to jump in front of a fourth-down pass and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown as time expired on a 36-24 victory against the Cardinals.

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Facing fourth-and-goal at the 4-yard line in need of a touchdown and a PAT to win the game, Jacoby Brissett threw to Michael Wilson, but Banks jumped the route and had nothing but space in front of him as he soaked in a long run with exploding fans who no longer see him as a draft bust but as a salvaged starter with promise.

You wanted your quintessential Jameis Winston Game, you got it.

After expressing frustration this week that he has been drawing too much criticism for quietly managing the Giants to a victory by people who wanted to see his trademark make-or-break throws, Winston threw three touchdowns and two interceptions at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants are 3-1 for the first time since 2022 and have won their first three home games for the first time since 2008 in old Giants Stadium.

With the Giants protecting a three-point lead and 11:08 on the clock, Najee Harris, who barreled in for a two-point conversion earlier, fumbled on a second-effort push. It was the fifth fumble in four games by the Giants’ top three running backs.

The Giants survived because Abdul Carter — stepping up with Brian Burns out for the season — had back-to-back quarterback hits to force a thee-and-out.

Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese got the Giants defense turned around in the second quarter with three game-changing plays.

Reese hit Brissett and forced an underthrown interception to Greg Newsome II. He also made an open-field third-down tackle on Tyler Allgeier to force a punt. And then he corralled a batted pass by Shelby Harris for his first career interception, setting up the Giants with a 26-yard short field that turned into a Malik Nabers touchdown catch.

Winston threw two touchdown passes only 128 seconds apart late in the second quarter but threw interceptions the next two times that he touched the ball. There were small sections of the stadium chanting for newly acquired quarterback J.J. McCarthy — who was surprisingly active — to replace Winston.

Winston finally ended a streak of 23 straight true possessions without a touchdown since taking over for the injured Jaxson Dart when he led the Giants on a seven-play, 56-yard drive to cut into a 14-6 deficit.

It was helped by his legs — surprisingly enough — because Winston drew a facemask penalty on one scramble, and was out of the pocket and improvising on another when he found Malalchi Fields transitioning from blocker to target for a 12-yard touchdown.

Two plays after a quick interception by Reese, Winston found Nabers down the seam for his first touchdown catch post-ACL surgery and a 19-14 lead.

Winston’s second go-ahead touchdown pass came late in the third quarter when he found Theo Johnson in the back of the end zone. Johnson, who has had a drops-plagued career, made the contested catch and Harris powered in for two additional points.

Dominic Zvada made all three of his field goals to stretch his career-opening streak to 9-for-9, including a 52-yarder with 2:11 remaining.

But that left the Giants in the precarious position of holding a six-point lead with 67 yards to defend. Two games in a row have ended with an interception in the end zone, after Jevon Holland sealed last week’s win against the Titans in the final 17 seconds.