EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Deonte Banks looked like he might be the unfortunate goat of a game it seemed like was going to slip away from the New York Giants in the closing seconds on Sunday.
With :27 left, Banks was called for a seemingly bogus pass interference penalty with the Arizona Cardinals facing third-and-6 from the New York 22-yard line.
Head coach John Harbaugh called the penalty “crazy”, for which he might end up getting fined, and added “I thought you had to touch the guy for it to be pass
interference.”
After three incompletions, one caused by a Banks pass breakup, the Cardinals were still sitting at the 4-yard line facing fourth-and-goal with :11 remaining on the clock.
Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett fired a slant toward wide receiver Michael Wilson near the goal line. It never got there. Banks, sitting inside and waiting for the slant he had been looking for the entire game, jumped in front of Wilson, caught the ball and raced 98 yards for a game-sealing score.
“They was giving me a tight end and a receiver set all day. I’ve been thinking a slant all day and they haven’t been giving it to me,” Banks said. “That time I just knew they were going to give it to me. It was just a matter of time because they kept running it.
“I knew I was going to take it. I’ve been calling it all week. I’m going to pick a slant this week.”
Banks called his shot. And, he delivered.
Banks picked off the pass, his first interception since 2023, and ran uncontested to the end zone as teammates and a jubilant MetLife Stadium crowd erupted.
The Giants are 3-1 and in first place in the NFC East. Amazing and completely unexpected.
The same has to be said for Banks having a starring role.
After a promising rookie season, things went sideways for Banks the past two seasons. Poor play and maturity issues that led to what looked like poor effort on the field, made you wonder if Banks was destined to be a kickoff returner and emergency cornerback for the remainder of whatever was left of his NFL career.
Now, he is a hero. And, he might be the best cornerback on the Giants’ roster.
“I got a bad pass in the first call, I did,” Banks said. “Two plays later they went at me again with McBride. He got another PBU. I just keep going. The main thing is just to keep going. Finish.”
Banks admitted that has not always been easy for him.
“I feel like I always had a problem with sometimes going to the next play,” Banks said. “I just think about what I did last time. Sometimes you just got to flush it.Keep going. That’s what I’ve been doing.
“I just try to keep going. Alright. Let’s go. Keep going. Keep going. The game ain’t over until it’s over.”
The Giants have now won back-to-back games in which a defensive back made a game-saving interception in the final seconds. Last week it was Jevon Holland with a last-second end zone interception against Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans.
“It just shows our relentlessness,” Banks said. “We’re going to keep going and keep going until the game’s over.”
Harbaugh said he was “crying inside” when the pass interference call was made on Banks.
“Was it crying? Was it rage? Maybe it was rage. It’s kind of a mix of those two things, right? You have to play the next play, which is what they do,” Harbaugh said. “You gotta keep believing and then you got to do. Keep believing, keep doing, keep believing, keep doing, keep believing, keep doing. That’s really what life is. Football is a metaphor for life and that’s the way a football game goes. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way. But the last two times it did go our way and they were rewarded for that.”
Defensive tackle D.J. Reader wasn’t around for Banks’ struggles the past couple of seasons. He wasn’t surprised by what he saw Banks do at the end of the game.
“That’s the only Tae Banks I know, man. Very confident player,” Reader said. “You get a BS PI call, whatever. You know how ballsy it is to undercut an out for the game? That’s confidence. That’s a ballsy thing to do, but when you’ve trusted your technique, you’ve watched the tape, and you see it, you can break on it and return it for six.”
Banks said after the game he never doubted his ability despite the struggles of the past two seasons.
“I just know what I’m capable of. Let me just prove myself right. I’m going to just keep proving myself right. That’s all,” Banks said. “I really don’t care about last year. We got a new coaching staff, new coaches, new players. I’m just happy to get going.”
The Giants are certainly happy that he has.
