EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Jameis Winston showed off the good, bad and ugly of his football career and it required another late defensive stand to get it done. It was far from a masterpiece, but the New York Giants will take it.
Winston threw three touchdown passes to offset a pair of interceptions, Deonte Banks had a 98-yard pick-6 to seal it and the Giants won another not-so-pretty game, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 36-24 on Sunday to take sole
possession of first place in the NFC East.
“It wasn’t the most beautiful game, as far as playing perfectly: It was a winning game,” coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s what winning teams do: They find ways to win games, and that’s why they’re winning teams.”
Making his second start in place of injured franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart, Winston again did what he needed to do to engineer a victory with TD passes to Malachi Fields, Malik Nabers and Theo Johnson. Winston's 12-yard toss to Fields with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter was the team's first touchdown since the season opener, ending a drought that lasted nine-plus quarters.
Winston finished 18 of 29 for 250 yards in a roller-coaster showing of highs and lows. J.J. McCarthy was in uniform six days after the Giants (3-1) acquired him in a trade with Minnesota but did not play.
"It just gave us an option in case we wanted to put J.J. out there and run certain plays that we had prepared for him," said Harbaugh, who added McCarthy was not close to entering the game.
Nabers more than doubled his receiving yardage this season by making six catches for 112 yards. He had 96 through his first three games back from a serious knee injury.
“I knew it was coming this game,” Nabers said. “I don’t know — I just felt good. I felt good through the whole week. I just didn’t want to jinx myself, so I was just trying to be humble and just wait for the game to come to me.”
The defense also made some big plays, sacking Brissett twice and rebounding from allowing two long touchdown drives in the first 12 minutes. For a second game in a row, New York got an interception after its opponent reached the red zone, and Banks made up for his pass interference penalty a few plays earlier that Harbaugh called crazy.
“I thought you had to touch a guy for it to be pass interference,” Harbaugh said. “He didn’t bat an eye. Nobody flinched, nobody blinked.”
Dominic Zvada continued to validate Harbaugh's trust in another rookie kicker by improving to 9 of 9 on field goal attempts.
Jacoby Brissett was 21 of 35 and threw three interceptions — the last coming on the final play — which turned out to be the difference. Arizona (1-3) blew a 14-3 lead after Brissett connected with Marvin Harrison Jr. for a TD and Tyler Allgeier ran into the end zone in the first quarter.
“We kind of got in our own way," Brissett said. "We made some plays after getting stops, but you can’t have three interceptions.”
The Cardinals gained just 138 yards the rest of the way, losing their third in a row since winning coach Mike LaFleur's debut in Week 1 at the Los Angeles Chargers.
“All three loses we’ve had over the last three weeks have been different," LaFleur said. "This one is going to sting. It's not going to be the most fun ride home. There are certainly things I know I could have done better. We have to get right back to work because no one is going to feel sorry for us.”
Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese picked off Brissett for his first interception in the NFL as part of a dominant performance that included nine tackles. And the No. 5 pick in the draft did so with Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor in attendance as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1986 Super Bowl championship team at halftime.
“He has been great,” Taylor said. “I think he’s a good player.”
Cardinals: Safety Andrew Wingard was carted off with a knee injury and right guard Isaiah Adams with an ankle injury. ... Tight end Hunter Long left with a knee injury. ... Left tackle Paris Johnson walked off the field holding his left arm late.
Giants: Receiver/returner Braxton Berrios (foot), defensive lineman Chauncey Golston (neck) and safety Jason Pinnock (concussion) left with injuries.
Cardinals: Host Detroit next Sunday.
Giants: Visit Washington next Sunday.
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