EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Michael Wilson remained in his turf-smeared game jersey. Jacoby Brissett wore only a pair of red gym shorts. Marvin Harrison Jr. was wrapped in a purple towel.
All three sat in the same position, a few feet from one another. Each crossed his hands, bowed his head slightly and wore an empty stare, attempting to understand what had just unfolded. Together, they formed a triangle of quiet despair inside the Arizona Cardinals’ locker room. The silence only broke once, when Harrison tried to make sense of one fourth-quarter play. His words floated into the room, with no clear solution.
That is the state of the Cardinals now, after a third consecutive loss dropped them to 1-3.
“This one's gonna sting,” head coach Mike LaFleur
said. “It's not gonna be the most fun ride home.”
After consecutive losses to Super Bowl contenders, this one was inflicted by the New York Giants. Led by a struggling backup quarterback in Jameis Winston, the Giants found life far too easy against the Cardinals defense, which repeatedly wounded itself with coverage busts and penalties.
But any optimistic case for this year’s Cardinals began with the offense, with its big-name playmakers and highly-touted new play-calling head coach. And on Sunday afternoon, the onus was on that offense to deliver a dramatic win. At the 4-yard line with 27 seconds remaining, it had four chances to score a game-winning touchdown.
It failed.
In a convenient world, there would be one place to point blame; one person culpable for the loss. Instead, the issues were myriad, tracing back to the play that put them on the goal line in the first place.
By drawing a weak pass interference penalty, Harrison enabled the Cardinals to convert on third-and-6 from the 22-yard line, moving to the precipice of a touchdown. Really, though, he should have scored then and there.
Brissett’s pass was placed perfectly on Harrison’s back shoulder — the exact type of contested catch on which he is supposed to make his name. On this occasion, it clattered through his arms. He was saved only because cornerback Deonte Banks briefly grazed his arm on the way up.
You can't call this pass interference in this spot pic.twitter.com/9eLVSZd3Ms
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) October 4, 2026
Still: Four plays to gain 4 yards.
As it turned out, their best opportunity came on first down. LaFleur lined the Cardinals up in a three-tight-end set, with a play-action pass that he said was built “off a play from earlier.” The Giants bit on the fake, leaving Trey McBride open in the flat. By the time Brissett saw his tight end, though, he had a pass rusher in his face and was forced to throw the ball into the turf.
“I missed that,” Brissett said. “I didn't get my head around fast enough off the play fake.”
On second down, the Cardinals initially had a run play called, taking advantage of their one remaining timeout. It would have gone to Tyler Allgeier, who was on the field over Jeremiyah Love for pass protection reasons, LaFleur said.
The Giants, though, showed a look that indicated they were selling out to stop the run, so the Cardinals switched into a pass. Wilson, running an out route, was the first read.
The Cardinals “feel good about” that matchup, LaFleur said, but it didn’t work. Wilson was covered the whole way and couldn’t make a difficult contested catch.
“I think I should've went inside and maybe that would've made it a little bit of a cleaner route,” Wilson said. “I tried to force the outside release, and he kind of got sticky on me. I felt like I had to break flat and try to go and elevate to the ball. And didn't make the play.”
Brissett may have also had a chance to look for Harrison on a crossing route, although he was also well-covered. Underneath, Kendrick Bourne briefly came open on a pivot route, but that window opened and closed in a flash. Really, there were few good options.
The same held true on third down when Brissett tried McBride on another well-covered out route. Brissett could have looked for the bunch of Wilson, Harrison and Bourne to his right, but all three were covered. And if he had hesitated, he may have been sacked, as right tackle Elijah Wilkinson was beaten to the inside.
On fourth down, again, Brissett was devoid of good options. He locked in on Wilson, who was running a slant route against Banks.
Afterward, Banks told reporters that he had been anticipating this slant route all game. And all game, the Cardinals proved him wrong, enabling Wilson to finish with seven catches for a team-high 95 yards, largely on out-breaking routes.
But here, when it mattered most, Banks’ scouting paid off. He parked himself inside of Wilson, suffocating the slant route.
“I could've forced the inside release,” Wilson said. “I felt he had inside leverage; I tried to sell the fade and come back underneath. And he made a good play. Good coverage rep.”
What a way to end it for the New York Football Giants!
— Jason Page (@TheBackPage) October 4, 2026
Banks pick-6 for the Giants as the defense does its job late.
3-1 for the Giants atop the NFC East.
Heartbreaking loss for the Cardinals pic.twitter.com/OvWamVetEl
Elsewhere, the Giants dropped two defensive tackles into coverage, muddying the picture over the middle. The best option was likely Harrison, running an out route on the opposite side of the field, but labeling any choice here as the “best” is a bit of a misnomer. To make matters worse, backup right guard Jon Gaines was beaten quickly, putting pressure on Brissett.
“We called the play for (Wilson),” Brissett said. “And thought he was going to get the edge and be able to get inside.”
When that didn’t happen, there was no clear solution.
Does that fall on LaFleur, for his playcalling? Does it fall on the receivers, for not getting open? Does it fall on Brissett, for not progressing through his reads? Does it fall, through a broader lens, on general manager Monti Ossenfort, for failing to fortify the offensive line or acquire a new quarterback?
That’s the puzzle the Cardinals will aim to untangle in the coming days. Inside a quiet locker room in the Meadowlands, no one had the answer.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What happened on Cardinals last drive?
