{"id":364916,"date":"2026-10-05T16:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T16:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/364916\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T16:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T16:40:15","slug":"giants-cardinals-things-i-think-first-place-giants-just-keep-throwing-punches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/364916\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants-Cardinals \u2018things I think\u2019: First-place Giants just keep \u2018throwing punches\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. \u2014 The flawed but feisty New York Giants woke up Monday morning with a 3-1 record and sole possession of first place in the NFC East. That is a pleasant, but absolutely unexpected development.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Just for fun, and because we know it may not stay this way over the next 13 games, a look at the Week 4 NFC East standings:<\/p>\n<p>New York Giants \u2014 3-1Dallas Cowboys \u2014 2-2Philadelphia Eagles \u2014 2-2Washington Commanders \u2014 1-3<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">How did this happen? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The veteran head coach\u2019s impact has been central to the Giants\u2019 early-season success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Harbaugh made players \u2014 many of them used to losing with the Giants \u2014 believe they could win if they earned the right to win. He drove them hard during the spring and especially in the summer, harder and longer than most were accustomed to as NFL players.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Harbaugh made them believe that the hard work, and the bond they developed through their shared effort, would callous them and help build the toughness to earn the opportunity to win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Be truthful, Giants fans. Would the team have won either of the Week 3 and Week 4 games it was victorious in last season? Almost certainly not. A year ago, the Giants blew five fourth-quarter leads. In each of the last two weeks, they have won games that felt as though they were about to be lost. That maybe should have been lost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cYou have to play the next play, which is what they do. You gotta keep believing, and then you got to do. Keep believing, keep doing, keep believing, keep doing, keep believing, keep doing,\u201d Harbaugh said after Sunday\u2019s game. \u201cThat\u2019s really what life is. Football is a metaphor for life, and that\u2019s the way a football game goes. Sometimes it doesn\u2019t go your way. But the last two times it did go our way, and they were rewarded for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Defensive tackle D.J. Reader is in his 11th season in the NFL. He knows what he sees and feels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cWe fightin\u2019, man. We out there throwing punches, and we know our brother beside us is throwing punches with us,\u201d Reader said. \u201cThat\u2019s all that matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cIt might not be as conventional as everybody\u2019s looking for it to be, but shoot, we care about each other. There\u2019s nothing really you can do to replace camaraderie. When people care about each other, a lot of things can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The Giants are not the most talented team in the NFL. They are not the most talented team in the NFC East. They have lost their young star quarterback for the season in Jaxson Dart. They have lost their defensive leader in Brian Burns for the season. There are plenty of flaws to pick at. Yet, they believe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">It is, again, resilience and toughness born from the work they have done.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201dYou shouldn\u2019t be out there playing if you don\u2019t believe,\u201d Reader said. \u201cWe put a lot of work in in camp. New coaches, new coordinators, new systems. If you believe in the work you put in, you just gotta keep believing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Significantly, the winning plays were made the past two weeks by players who are having resurgent seasons. A week ago it was Jevon Holland, who was disappointing in his first season with the Giants in 2025, but earned NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors after getting three interceptions in three games. Sunday, it was Tae Banks, who looked like a bust three years after the Giants made him a first-round pick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Harbaugh gave Banks a shot at redemption, and from the beginning, Banks has taken advantage of it. Teammates lauded Banks\u2019 resilience on Sunday, making two plays on the final goal line stand after a questionable pass interference call against him put the Arizona Cardinals at the Giants\u2019 4-yard line with :22 to play.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bigblueview.com\/new-york-giants-analysis\/174347\/deonte-banks-called-his-shot-and-delivered-a-game-winning-play-for-the-giants\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Banks said after the game<\/a> that the important thing is to \u201ckeep going.\u201d He and his teammates have been doing that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cThat\u2019s real hard,\u201d said Arvell Reese. \u201cAfter you make a mistake like that, some people would probably get down. He still held his head high, chest up. Man made a play; he won us the game. That\u2019s very hard. Tip my hat to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Abdul Carter is another player who had a rough rookie season in 2025, but who had a big hand in Sunday\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cI think it just shows what we\u2019re made of,\u201d Carter said. \u201cIn those critical situations, that\u2019s where you\u2019ve gotta be at your best. The last two weeks we\u2019ve been at our best in those situations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to win in this league. It just reminds me of last year so much because in these situations we didn\u2019t get it done, but obviously this year has been a change. I credit the coaches, I credit the players, I credit everybody in the building. It takes everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">It started with Harbaugh setting the standard, and convincing the players they could do it if they worked hard enough to earn it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">I think that is what we have to call the Jameis Winston Experience. There is great. There is ugly. There is everything in between. In some cases, all at the same time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">I don\u2019t know about anyone else, but every time Winston drops back to throw, my immediate thought is \u201cOh, God, what is going to happen this time?\u201d Sometimes it is great. Sometimes it is disastrous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Every time he starts to move around in the pocket or his feet start to bounce around, I cringe. Yet, some of his best plays occur when that happens. Some of his worst, too. If I\u2019m an offensive lineman, sometimes I love Winston. Sometimes, I hate him for making me look bad.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Winston threw three touchdown passes. He threw two interceptions. He made plays that kept the Cardinals in the game. Yet, in the end, he made plays the Giants don\u2019t win the game without. The Giants are 2-0 with Winston starting games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">It isn\u2019t pretty with Winston, and never will be. Still, could this be the start of a heater like the one Winston was on when he went 5-2 as a starter for the New Orleans Saints in 2021?<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Even Winston\u2019s post-game press conference sounded like Jameis being Jameis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cI\u2019m just grateful for the opportunity I have now. And right now, I get to smile and say I\u2019m the starting quarterback for the New York Football Giants,\u201d Winston said. \u201cSo, focusing on what I would love is winning games with my team, being the best that I can be. And I just feel like that, man, I\u2019m heating up and I\u2019m starting to get better, better, and better.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cLast week, I was questioning if I could even throw. This week, I\u2019ve got people talking about the Jameis Winston experience again. So, I\u2019m just still so curious, and I\u2019m so inspired to be the best me every single day. And that alone pushes me. Not another man, not another teammate, just my desire to be what I would love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Honestly, I\u2019m not exactly sure all of that makes sense. But sometimes watching Winston doesn\u2019t make sense. Which, right now, with the way things are going for this Giants team, might make him the perfect quarterback for an imperfect team that has so far turned the NFC East upside down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">In retrospect, it seems appropriate that the first question Arvell Reese was asked after Sunday\u2019s game was about playing so well in front of Lawrence Taylor as the Giants honored the 1986 Super Bowl team. I\u2019m kind of mad that I didn\u2019t think to ask the question.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cOh man, that means a lot, bro,\u201d Reese said. \u201cWith a guy like that in the building, him setting the standard for how that position is supposed to be played back in the day. It definitely means a lot to play a decent game like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Let\u2019s not put Reese in the same category as Taylor just yet. Actually, not for a long while. Maybe never. Still, the 21-year-old rookie had a Taylor-esque game on Sunday. He had nine tackles. He had a pressure that led to an interception when he hit Jacoby Brissett\u2019s arm. He had an interception of his own. He had a tackle for loss. He had three passes defensed. He made one-on-one tackles in the open field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Still, he only called his play \u201cdecent,\u201d because there were \u201ca bunch of plays I left out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Reese said in the celebratory post-game locker room that he wants to be a \u201cdominant game-changer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">He isn\u2019t Lawrence Taylor. No one is. I have news for Arvell, though. He already is one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. \u2014 The flawed but feisty New York Giants woke up Monday morning with a 3-1&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,7692,11,10,12010],"class_list":["post-364916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-giants-analysis","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-valentines-views"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}