Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are the stories you need to know about as the Giants look to stay atop the NFC East with a win this Sunday.
NFL Week 4 preview | ESPN.com
The Giants seem to know they’re not facing the Titans’ offense again this week. It was mentioned several times that the Cardinals are “very similar” offensively to the Rams — who dismantled the Giants two weeks ago — which DC Dennard Wilson noted because of Arizona coach Mike LaFleur’s ties to Sean McVay. New York knows it’s going to be a difficult challenge,
particularly stopping rookie RB Jeremiyah Love, who it had ranked as a top-three player in the 2026 draft.
Can Jameis Winston hold off JJ McCarthy? Where’s the pass rush? What to watch for in Giants-Cardinals | The Athletic
A weak Arizona Cardinals pass defense should provide the streaky Winston an opportunity to find his groove. But if Winston struggles again and the Giants lose, the focus immediately will shift to his job security. A key variable will be how quickly McCarthy learns the offense. He only has 10 career starts and the Giants’ offense puts a lot on the quarterback’s plate. Rushing McCarthy into action before he’s ready would be a huge mistake. But there’s an understanding that McCarthy won’t be able to fully get up to speed on the offense midstream.
With an upcoming stretch against the 1-2 Cardinals, the 1-2 Commanders, the 1-2 Saints and the 0-3 Texans, the Giants’ best bet to building momentum is Winston turning things around. If the 2-1 Giants can’t string some wins together now, it will be asking a lot for McCarthy to save the season when the schedule stiffens after their Week 8 bye.
New Giants QB candid about if he can thrive amid fresh start: ‘Nobody knows’ | NJ.com
McCarthy said he’s attacking the new offense day-by-day, but said he feels he’s picking it up pretty quickly. When asked how close he is to being ready to go into a game, McCarthy said, “At the end of the day, I’m just focused on watching this practice, learning from it and making sure I get this game plan down. I’m really just focused on being in the present moment and going from there.”
McCarthy wasn’t interested in dwelling on what went wrong in Minnesota. “There’s a multitude of things you can think of, but at the end of the day, it’s all in the past,” he said. “All I care about is what’s important now — that next rep, that next meeting, that next game. That’s really all I’m focused on.”
Giants rookie Colton Hood ‘baptized by fire’ by intense NFL initiation | New York Post
Initiations into the NFL don’t get any more difficult than defending Matthew Stafford throwing to Davante Adams in your first career start. But Hood also allowed Wan’Dale Robinson’s touchdown last game. Hood has allowed 11 catches on 15 targets for 106 yards and two touchdowns over three games, according to NextGenStats. Opposing quarterbacks have a 132.2 rating when throwing at him.
“I’m encouraged by, just watching the film, none of it is, ‘This guy is just better than me and beat me,’ ” Hood told The Post. “It’s more just seeing things for the first time and processing things post-snap. It’s just that I’m at a different level and learning how to combat those things. The routes in the league are different, you have to adjust to the depth. And the coverages, you have to understand not just your job but the people around you’s job so you can play tighter.”
Rush to judgment as Giants defense promises to crank things up on QBs | The Record
The New York Giants have looked in the mirror. They’ve studied the tape and scoured the stat sheet, only to be left incredibly disappointed with what they have seen.
DC Dennard Wilson thinks Jihad Ward can be ‘good factor’ in Giants defense | SNY.tv
Ward appeared in all 17 of Tennessee’s games (starting 12 of them) and he recorded career-highs in defensive snaps (708), quarterback hits (22), and sacks (5.0).
“Haddy is a guy that played extremely well for me,” Wilson said. “He brings versatility to play on the edge, he brings versatility to play in the middle of the defense if we need, and he can be an interior rusher if we need, too. Haddy’s going to be ready when his number is called. We’ll see how it plays out from today going forward to Sunday and the weeks after that — but he’s an ultimate professional, and he’s going to be prepared. He’s been in camp with the Vikings, he’s in shape, so we’ll see how the chips fall here — I feel that Haddy could be a good factor in our defense moving forward.”
Scouts: Giants Unlikely To Find Buried Treasure In McCarthy | FOX Sports
“There’s no doubt McCarthy has talent,” one scout told me. “He’s probably a good fit for what they want to do, too. But honestly, if the Vikings were willing to dump their one-time franchise quarterback for a fifth-round pick, you really got to wonder what they know. Teams don’t usually dump young quarterbacks like that, especially ones they took 10th overall.”
“Think about that,” one NFL assistant told me. “He couldn’t beat out Murray or Wentz. That doesn’t happen to a high first-round pick. That’s what happens with late-round and practice squad-type guys. So that tells you everything about what Minnesota thinks of him. Maybe a change of scenery will help. But O’Connell is pretty good with quarterbacks. If he couldn’t get anything out of the kid, I don’t know if anyone on the Giants can.”
From Big Blue View
- Despite McCarthy-mania, Matt Nagy reminds that Jameis Winston is the Giants’ QB
- No Giants’ players with injury designations heading into game vs. Cardinals
- Malik Nabers still learning to trust his knee after surgery
- Giants vs. Cardinals: Arizona offense poses challenges for New York
- Giants vs. Cardinals: Arizona defense presents an opportunity
- It’s an underdog weekend for the NFC East
- Giants vs. Cardinals, NFL Week 4: News, injuries, analysis, more
This week’s opponent
- Cardinals Defense Prepares For Jameis Winston Experience | AZCardinals.com
- Cardinals Deep Dive: 3 Problems Standing Between Them and 2-2 | SI.com
- Will the Arizona Cardinals take advantage of an ailing New York Giants? | Revenge of the Birds
- Rip The Band-Aid Off: Why Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Needs A Career Reset | FOX Sports
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