The New York Giants (2-1) aim to continue their best start since 2022 as they host the Arizona Cardinals (1-2) at MetLife Stadium this Sunday afternoon.
Here are five storylines to follow this week before kickoff.
One game at a time
The Giants coaches were walking around practice on Wednesday wearing black T-shirts with "1-0" on them.
#Giants coaches, GM Joe Schoen wearing a “1-0” shirt.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) September 30, 2026
A message to team.
Also awesome to see John Mara here pic.twitter.com/SRRcrNsxAq
"1-0. That's the answer to your question right there," head coach John Harbaugh replied when asked what the shirts symbolized. "That's your answer. That's the point. That's what we're doing."
One game a week, one win a week. Very simple.
Rolling with Jameis, but J.J. is here
Jameis Winston took snaps with the first team on Wednesday, and Harbaugh
reiterated that he was the starting quarterback and there was no debating that fact.
"I have to play well regardless. It doesn't matter who's in the building," Winston said when asked about the Giants bringing in J.J. McCarthy to "back him up."
"When you're the quarterback for the New York Football Giants, you have to give your team a chance to win, and that's just the business that we're in."
Parting ways with OBJ
The Giants released veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. three games into his comeback. Beckham played sparingly while he was here, with one target and no receptions.
"It's tough, but we just weren't getting enough," said Harbaugh. "It just wasn't working for us. Like I told him, I wanted to be able to get more. I wanted him to be able to do more. I wanted to get him on the field more. For whatever reason, we weren't able to do it; put it on us. We weren't able to get it done. But at this point in time, that's kind of where we were and we needed to move on.
"Roster spot-wise, we need more out of that spot. And that's what we're going to do. Nothing about Odell. Nothing that he could do in that sense. It's just we weren't able to get it done, make it fit, make it work, whatever you want to call it. And I was hoping we could, and we didn't."
Setting the edge
Pro Bowl outside linebacker Brian Burns, who recorded a career-high 16.5 sacks last season, was lost for the season on Sunday with a torn ACL. The Giants are currently seeking alternatives and signed free agent Jihad Ward this week.
The plan suggests Chauncey Golston will see an uptick at the position, and rookies Arvell Reese and Jack Kelly could get opportunities on the outside.
"I think you can move him around," Harbaugh said of Reese, who has played inside linebacker thus far in games. "It's kind of another bonus for Arvell. A lot of people thought he was an edge guy. He's been on the edge already this year for us, so he'll show up in there. We've got a young guy or two that'll get more of a chance, too."
Run, run, pass, run?
The Giants' depth chart has four tight ends, five running backs and only five wide receivers, and two of those wideouts (Braxton Berrios, Charlie Jones) are basically returners.
With Winston having accuracy issues on intermediate and long passes, the Giants are geared to play smallball -- a lot of runs with high-percentage short passes sprinkled in.
The playbook they drew up for Jaxson Dart has been altered for Winston. It's not very dynamic. That is why they traded for McCarthy. He has a similar skill set to that of Dart, but until he can get up to speed, expect a very vanilla approach on offense.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants vs. Arizona Cardinals: 5 storylines to watch in Week 4
