There were many good things on defense and special teams in the Arizona Cardinals' disheartening 36-24 loss to the New York Giants. But, as is often the case in the NFL, the ugly won the day and accentuated the issues the Cardinals have when it comes to having players find ways to make plays to win games rather than giving up plays that lead to defeats.
The most glaring number from Sunday is that Giants quarterback Jameis Winston passed for 250 yards on 18 completions, with 166 (66.4 percent of the total) coming on five plays. The other completions totaled 84 yards, an average of 6.5.
As head coach Mike LaFleur said, “We want to limit explosives. There were some of the third down-and-longs, we had them in a good situation, advantage us from a defensive
perspective. And whether Jameis extended the play a little bit and finding some guys down the field, I mean, you're in a zone coverage, so it's not like you're in a sticky man for a lot of those reasons. I’ve got to go look at the tape and see where some of those breakdowns occurred and work to get it fixed and fixed fast.”
A blow to the defense was the loss of safety Andrew Wingard, who had one solo tackle before exiting the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. In the first three games, Wingard totaled 22 tackles (nine solo/three for loss), an interception and forced fumble. With Dadrion Taylor-Demerson inactive again because of a back injury, rookie undrafted free agent Wydett Williams Jr. played more than usual.
We’ll get to the back-breaking plays after examining some of the positives.
Stopping the run
The Cardinals knew they had to limit the damage running back Cam Skattebo might do, so call that mission accomplished. Skattebo rushed for 58 yards on 18 carries (3.2 average), while Najee Harris added 30 yards on nine attempts (3.3). Along with Tyrone Tracy’s one carry for minus-1 one yards the Giants ground game produced only 87 yards on 28 attempts (3.1 average) with longs of nine for Harris and eight for Skattebo.
There were seven tackles for loss, led by Walter Nolen III, who had two.
The takeaways
It’s part of the Jameis Winston Experience that he will put the ball in harm’s way at times, and that happened on a poor pass that safety Budda Baker intercepted in the third quarter. On the next possession, the Cardinals scored a touchdown, giving them a 24-19 lead.
Cornerback Denzel Burke read a route well late in the second quarter and moved in front of rookie wide receiver Malachi Fields for a pick at the Cardinals' 25-yard line. That led to a 60-yard Chad Ryland field goal on the final play of the first half, his only attempt in the game
Linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. knocked the ball loose from Harris at the Cardinals' 41-yard line, and linebacker Zaven Collins recovered. However, they failed to capitalize, going three-and-out in a stretch of three consecutive punts in the fourth quarter.
How ugly was the ugly? Very ugly
Perhaps the ugliest was a 40-yard pass play to a wide-open Fields in the third quarter on third-and-20 from the Giants 42-yard line. That possession began with a 28-yard pass play to wide receiver Malik Nabers, who scored on a 25-yard play that gave the Giants their first lead of the game in the second quarter. For the game, Nabers caught six of seven targets for 112 yards (18.7-yard average). In case you were wondering, Nabers was selected two picks after Marvin Harrison Jr. in the 2024 draft.
The good news after the 40-yarder was that it appeared the Cardinals had limited the Giants to a field goal after that play reached the Arizona 18-yard line. However, defensive lineman Dante Stills was flagged for holding on a field-goal attempt that resulted in a first down. Two plays later, the Giants scored a touchdown that put them back ahead 27-24 after a successful two-point conversion.
Stills was livid and afterward called it “a (expletive) call.”
LaFleur said, “The explanation was that we jerked the guy, and it's again, I've kind of been told what the TV copy looked like. I mean, we didn't feel from the sideline ... but sometimes you can't see when it's mucked up in there. So if that's what happened, you can't do that. But that's what happened.”
CBS-TV rules analyst Gene Steratore said it was the right call because Stills had a slight grab of blocker Aaron Stinnie’s jersey that allowed linebacker Jordan Burch to shoot through the gap.
Special teams part of the ugly, too
Tracy had a 55-yard kickoff return in the first quarter that led to a Giants 50-yard field goal after the Cardinals had gone ahead 14-3. New York’s first field goal came after a 39-yard pass play to Nabers on third-and-12. Tight end Isaiah Likely gained 34 yards on a pass play on third-and-4.
Punter Blake Gillikin punted six times for a pedestrian (at best) 43.2-yard average and 38.7 net. He had two consecutive 37-yard punts, one that set the Giants up at the 44-yard line and led to their first touchdown. That came on a third-and-4 scoring pass to Fields for 12 yards.
Kickoff returner Devin Duvernay had a 39-yard kickoff return to open the game, but in the fourth quarter, he inexplicably allowed a punt to bounce at the 15-yard line rather than move up three or four yards for a fair catch. The ball was downed at the 3-yard line and after there was no holding or pass interference flag on a third-and-2 pass to tight end Trey McBride, a 44-yard punt by Gillikin was fair caught at midfield. After six scrimmage plays reached the Cardinals 34-yard line, a Dominic Zvada 52-yard field goal gave the Giants a 30-24 lead.
Entering the game, Gillikin was averaging 46.3 yards with a 39.4 net. In five games before a back injury ended his 2025 season, Gillikin averaged 51.7 yards with a 45.4 net. He was hampered by a groin injury this year in training camp.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: The good, good and ugly in Arizona Cardinals' Week 4 loss
