Giants Vs. Cardinals: 6 Storylines For Week 4

Things are happening fast around the 2026 New York Giants. Here are some of the storylines to follow in Week 4 as the Giants host the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET.

Still ridin’ with Jameis

All the chatter this week is around the Giants’ acquisition of J.J. McCarthy. Understandable, since McCarthy is a 23-year-old former first-round pick the Giants heavily considered selecting in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Still, Jameis Winston is the starting quarterback. The story really needs to be about how the Giants can help Winston raise his level of play.

Winston is 25 of 49 (51%) for 229 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of just 55.6, a league worst QBR of 22.9, and an EPA per play of -0.31, 34th of 36 graded quarterbacks.

Week 2, the thought was that a Jaxson Dart-centric game plan did not favor Winston’s strengths. Week 3, wet, blustery conditions weren’t conducive to high-flying offense.

Still, there have been too many throws that it was surprising to see the strong-armed Winston miss. They will need more to win games going forward, and Winston will need to do more to keep McCarthy on the sideline. It is certainly possible that if he plays well going forward and the Giants win a decent number of games that Winston will do exactly that.

You’ll need a scorecard

No Jaxson Dart. No Brian Burns. No Odell Beckham Jr.

J.J. McCarthy, Braxton Berries, Charlie Jones in.

Perhaps more roster changes coming before Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff against the Cardinals. This Giants roster is changing quickly, partially due to injury and partially due to John Harbaugh’s meritocracy.

I give Harbaugh credit for moving on from Beckham. There is a ton of respect between the two, and it has been clear cutting Beckham was never a position Harbaugh wanted to be in. He put what he felt was best for the team ahead of his relationship with Beckham, though, and he deserves “Kudos” for that.

Super celebration

The Giants will be honoring the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Super Bowl team on Sunday. There a pre-game walk-in by players from that team and a halftime ceremony, among other things.

Touchdowns, please

Rookie placekicker Dominic Zvada has been excellent, but the object on offense is to get seven points, not three. The Giants’ 18 points the last two weeks have all come via field goals.

The Giants are 0 for 4 in the red zone over the past two weeks. Questionable play-calling in a couple of situations hasn’t helped. Penalties at key times have been a problem. After putting up 28 points Week 1, the Giants are now averaging 15.3 points per game, 28th in the league.

Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy has two powerful running backs at his disposal in Cam Skattebo and Najee Harris. He has Malik Nabers. He has big receiving targets like Isaiah Likely, Malachi Fields, and Theo Johnson. It has become clear that the Giants are not going to be able to rely on consistently generating explosive plays. They have to figure out how to get touchdowns when they have the opportunity.

Will the pass rush join the party?

I discussed the paucity of the pass rush earlier, so I won’t belabor it. The Giants, though, have got to begin finding ways to make quarterbacks uncomfortable. That needs to start with Jacoby Brissett of Arizona.

First place on the line

How about that little nugget. If the Giants win, they will at least share first place in the NFC East a quarter of the way through the season. I’m not sure anyone realistically saw that coming.