The Giants entered Sunday’s game with a chip on their shoulder. They were 2.5-point underdogs at home to the Cardinals.
The Cardinals?!
The Giants won 36-24 and offered a sharp rebuke to oddsmakers and naysayers.
“It’s dumb. It’s dumb to be underdogs at home, especially when you’re a good football team,” Giants running back Cam Skattebo said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN. “When people want to bet against you at your own place and you have a team coming from a six-hour flight on a time change, it’s a pretty brutal feeling as a team when you feel you’re put underneath them. We came out here and handled business.”
The Giants are 3-0 at home, 3-1 overall and in first place in the NFC East.
The Giants?!
The Cardinals went into their previous 15 games as underdogs, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett had been an underdog in 25 games in a row.
“We talked about it as a team. I think we were underdogs with them coming into our house,” Skattebo said. “I think that was kind of BS. This is our home. This is our house. These guys love each other. They know we have to protect our castle. They got it done. We got it done -- 3-0 at home is pretty good.”
Cardinals Clips
During Sunday’s game between the Cardinals and the Giants, CBS camera caught an interaction between line judge Jeff Seeman and Arizona tight end Trey McBride.
We’ll defer to the lip readers in the crowd to interpret. We have a feeling that Seeman didn’t say, “Thank you.” (Twice.)
The moment got the attention of NFL Players Association executive director JC Tretter.
Said Tretter, in a statement provided to Football Night in America before he thereafter posted it on social media: “This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable. Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”
An NFL spokesperson tells PFT that the league will look into the matter.
The Jameis Winston Experience struck again on Sunday, but the Giants were able to overcome giveaways to defeat the Cardinals, 30-24.
Winston and the Giants got off to a bit of a slow start in the first half. But the quarterback then got the offense in the end zone with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Fields and a 25-yard touchdown to Malik Nabers.
The Giants held a 19-17 lead at halftime and went down 24-19 when the Cardinals scored on a 2-yard pass from Jacoby Brissett midway through the third quarter.
But Winston then connected with Theo Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown, giving New York a three-point lead late in the third quarter. And Dominic Zvada hit a 52-yard field goal with just over two minutes left in the contest to extend the lead to six.
The Cardinals had a great chance to take the lead at the end of the contest, but New York’s defense kept Arizona out of the end zone and put an exclamation point on the victory. On fourth-and-goal from the 4, Deonte Banks picked off Brissett’s pass to Michael Wilson, returning it 98 yards for a touchdown.
Winston ended the contest 18-of-29 for 250 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Nabers led with six catches for 112 yards and a TD.
On the other side, Brissett was 21-of-35 for 166 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Wilson has seven catches for 95 yards while Trey McBride was held to just seven catches for 31 yards.
Giants defensive lineman Chauncey Golston (neck), receiver/returner Braxton Berrios (foot), safety Jason Pinnock (concussion) all exited and did not return.
With the win, the Giants are now 3-1 and will take on the Commanders on the road next week.
The Cardinals are now 1-3 and will host the Lions in Week 4.
The Cardinals started Sunday’s game white hot on offense, but everything flipped in the second quarter and now the Giants have a 19-14 lead at halftime.
Marvin Harrison Jr. caught his first touchdown since Week 10 of last season when he hauled in a 12-yard score from Jacoby Brissett to give Arizona an early 7-0 lead. Then Tyler Allgeier put in a 22-yard touchdown on Arizona’s second drive to make the score 14-3.
The Cardinals averaged 9.4 yards per play over their first two possessions, gaining 132 yards to end up with a pair of touchdowns.
But that trend stopped early in the second quarter, with the Giants picking off Brissett on a deep pass to the right.
From there, the Giants took a 19-14 lead with a 50-yard field goal, a 12-yard Jameis Winston touchdown pass, and a 25-yard Winston touchdown to Malik Nabers — who exited the game briefly with an apparent shoulder issue. He was able to return to catch the scoring strike.
But when New York had another opportunity to extend its lead late in the half, Winston threw an interception. Arizona’s Chad Ryland hit a 60-yard field goal to end the second quarter, narrowing New York’s lead to just two points.
The Giants will receive the second-half kickoff.
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. will make his first appearance of the 2026 season on Sunday.
Porter is active for the Cowboys less than a week after joining the team in a trade with the Steelers. Porter was listed with a back injury while in Pittsburgh, but his contract impasse with the team was seen as the true reason for his inactivity and Porter was not on the injury report for the Cowboys.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Porter is expected to play a limited number of snaps against the Texans in his Cowboys debut, but his presence should be welcomed for a defense that has struggled to find consistency over the first month of the season.
Cowboys at Texans
Cowboys: LB DeMarvion Overshown, CB Cobie Durant, CB Caelen Carson, RB Emari Demercado, LB James Houston, OL Ajani Cornelius, WR Camden Brown
Texans: LB Azeez Al-Shaair, DE Chris Braswell, OL Febechi Nwaiwu, OT Nate Thomas, TE Marlin Klein
Titans at Ravens
Titans: RB Michael Carter, CB Jaylon Jones, G Drew Moss, OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DT Jackie Marshall
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, LB Trey Hendrickson, WR Chris Moore, DT Aeneas Peebles
Patriots at Bills
Patriots: OT Dametrious Crownover, TE Tanner Arkin, QB Behren Morton, CB Christian Gonzalez, DT Christian Barmore, CB Channing Canada
Bills: WR Skyler Bell, S Jalon Kilgore, CB Christian Benford, LB Mike Danna, G Ar’maj Reed-Adams, OT Jude Bowry, DL T.J. Sanders
Jets at Bears
Jets: WR Adonai Mitchell, RB Breece Hall, CB Nahshon Wright, LB Kiko Mauigoa, LB Kinglsey Enagbare, G Dylan Parham, TE Mason Taylor
Bears: QB Caleb Williams, OL Ozzy Trapilo, CB Cam Lewis, DL Jaydon Loving, DL James Lynch, DL Jamree Kromah
Jaguars at Bengals
Jaguars: CB Montaric Brown, WR C.J. Williams, CB Christian Braswell, S Jalen Huskey, LB Jack Kiser, OL Daniel Faalele, DE Wesley Williams
Bengals: S Bryan Cook, S Kyle Dugger, LB Swayze Bozeman, OL Myles Hinton, WR Colbie Young, DT B.J. Hill, DT Landon Robinson
Cardinals at Giants
Cardinals: QB Carson Beck, CB Starling Thomas, S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, LB Cameron Robertson, OL Josh Fryar, WR Reggie Virgil
Giants: S Ar’Darius Washington, RB Devin Singletary, CB Nikko Reed, LB Jihad Ward, OL J.C. Davis, TE Thomas Fidone, DL Bobby Jamison-Travis
Rams at Eagles
Rams: WR C.J. Daniels, QB Ty Simpson, CB Cam Lampkin, CB Jaylen Watson, OL Bill Murray, TE Colby Parkinson, DT Aaron Donald
Eagles: WR Hollywood Brown, WR DeVonta Smith, QB Cole Payton, S Marcus Epps, LB Zack Baun, OT Lane Johnson, OL Fred Johnson, TE Dallas Goedert
Packers at Buccaneers
Packers: OL Jacob Monk, G Kevin Zeitler, G Aaron Banks, DT Anthony Campbell
Buccaneers: LB Rueben Bain, QB Baker Mayfield, DB Benjamin Morrison, TE Ko Kieft, OL Luke Haggard, OL Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart
On the surface, Sunday’s game between the Cardinals and the Giants brings little if any sizzle to the NFL menu. But there’s a surprising amount of history embedded in the series.
Via NBC Sports research, the two teams first met 100 years ago next month, on November 7, 1926. Today’s game will be the 130th time they’ve squared off.
From 1950 through 2001 (with the exception of 1968 and 1982), they played twice per year. Even after the Cardinals moved to Arizona, they remained in the NFC East for more than a decade.
Since the realignment of the divisions in 2002, they’ve played 11 times. Most recently, they met in 2023. The Giants won that one, 31-28; the Cardinals had won four in a row before that.
A win for the Giants would give them a 3-0 record at home for the first time since 2008. A win for the Cardinals would end a 16-game losing streak against teams that entered the contest with a losing record.
Of the eight games in the 1:00 p.m. ET window, it still doesn’t generate a ton of excitement. But at least we tried.
The Cardinals listed a key member of their defense as questionable to play in this Sunday’s game against the Giants.
Linebacker Josh Sweat landed in that category after a limited practice on Friday. Sweat was listed as limited on Thursday for a rest day, but the Cardinals added a groin injury to the report on Friday.
Sweat has three tackles and a tackle for loss so far this season. Baron Browning, Zaven Collins, Jordan Burch, and Eku Leota are the other outside linebackers on the 53-man roster in Arizona.
Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson has been ruled out for this weekend. Taylor-Demerson is dealing with a back injury.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson has earned a reputation as an offensive innovator, but he didn’t come up with the idea that led to one of his team’s touchdowns in Monday’s 27-7 win over the Eagles.
Quarterback Case Keenum ran for a one-yard score in the fourth quarter on a play that saw the two Chicago guards pull in opposite directions while Keenum followed center Garrett Bradbury up the middle for the score. After the game, Johnson credited former Rams head coach Mike Martz with coming up with the play design.
“That’s a Mike Martz special right there, that’s the old sucker sneak,” Johnson said. “I think they were a little bit tight initially and then they stemmed out at the last second, which gave us the green light to get to that play. It’s an old play, an old but a good play right there.”
Martz memorably called the play during Super Bowl XXXVI and it resulted in a Kurt Warner touchdown run. Johnson was a teenager when that game was played, but Martz’s ingenuity stuck with him.
In the first two weeks of the season, the 49ers dominated. In Week 3, they had to gut out a surprisingly tough win.
Despite the 49ers jumping out to a 14-0 lead, the Cardinals weren’t going to go down without a fight, and the game was close until the final moments, when the 49ers finally finished out a 36-30 win.
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy turned in another strong game, throwing for 297 yards with four touchdown passes and no interceptions. Purdy also ran for a 45-yard touchdown late in the game, although that touchdown was called back and turned into only a 35-yard gain because George Kittle was holding deep downfield.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett also deserves credit for his performance in a losing effort, throwing two touchdown passes and keeping the game close deep into the fourth quarter.
The injury-prone 49ers lost wide receiver Mike Evans with a rib injury, which has to be a big concern. They also saw left tackle Trent Williams leave with a stinger, although he was back on the sideline in the second half and looked OK.
The 49ers also may be concerned about kicker Eddy Pineiro, who hit a 57-yard field goal but also missed two extra points.
At 3-0, the 49ers are one of the best teams in the NFL. The 1-2 Cardinals are playing better than people expected, but they’re still a distant fourth in the NFC West.
49ers wide receiver Mike Evans has been knocked out of today’s game with a rib injury.
Evans took a hard hit while catching a pass in the second quarter and walked off the field in obvious pain. Once he got to the sideline he went to the ground and had to be helped to a cart and taken to the locker room.
When healthy, the 33-year-old Evans has been among the best wide receivers in the NFL for years, but he’s had a hard time staying healthy recently. Last year he missed most of the season with a string of injuries that included a hamstring strain, a concussion and a broken collarbone. He also missed time the year before with a hamstring injury. Now the 49ers will hope he can recover from his rib injury soon.
The 49ers were also without cornerback Deommodore Lenoir for much of the first half while he was evaluated for a concussion, but Lenoir was cleared and returned in the second half.
Despite the injuries, the 49ers keep rolling and are leading the Cardinals 17-6 in the third quarter.
