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Winston throws 3 TD passes and Banks' pick-6 seals Giants' 36-24 win over Cardinals

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Whyno, S. (2026, October 4). Winston throws 3 TD passes and Banks' pick-6 seals Giants' 36-24 win over Cardinals. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/winston-throws-3-touchdown-passes-and-banks-pick-6-seals-giants-36-24-win-over-cardinals/article_7580d4d7-adc9-51d9-bf36-112862a22c22.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-04 · by Stephen Whyno

Quick Summary

In a game filled with ups and downs, Jameis Winston threw three touchdown passes despite two interceptions as the New York Giants defeated the Arizona Cardinals 36-24 on Sunday. Deonte Banks sealed the victory with a 98-yard pick-six late in the fourth quarter. Despite Winston’s inconsistent play, the Giants' defense stepped up with crucial turnovers and sacks, securing their first place standing in the NFC East at 3-1. Jacoby Brissett for the Cardinals threw three interceptions and struggled offensively after leading by 14 points early in the game.
Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Dennard Wilson and John Harbaugh instilled confidence in Deonte Banks, who reached a speed of 21.85 mph on his 98-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals. Jameis Winston threw an interception that gave the Cardinals a lead, but Banks' pick-6 sealed the game for the Giants (3-1). The Cardinals (1-3) are frustrated after losing three consecutive games despite looking strong at times during their matchups. Jacoby Brissett has struggled with wins, holding a 2-14 record over two seasons with the Cardinals and a career mark of 21-48 as a starter. Head coach Mike LaFleur is trying to keep his team focused on moving forward rather than dwelling on past losses. The NFC East remains competitive, with no clear favorite emerging after four weeks. The Giants' backup quarterbacks have kept them in contention for the division lead despite challenges. Paul Schwartz provides exclusive insights into the Giants through texts for Sports+ subscribers. Jevon Holland emphasized the importance of trust and confidence from coaches to players like Banks. Winston's performance continues to be scrutinized, with the team looking to finish drives efficiently without making costly mistakes. The Cardinals face a tough road ahead as they try to turn their season around after another close loss. John Harbaugh has set high standards for his team that are being met by players like Banks, who made a critical play in the final moments of the game against Arizona. The Giants' resilience and ability to come back from deficits highlight their potential as contenders in the NFC East. LaFleur aims to prevent the Cardinals from feeling sorry for themselves and encourages them to focus on improving rather than dwelling on past mistakes. Winston's interception led to a 24-19 deficit, but Banks' return secured the victory, showcasing the Giants' defensive prowess under Harbaugh's leadership. The NFC East remains unpredictable with each team having its strengths and weaknesses, making it difficult to predict which team will emerge as the division winner. LaFleur emphasizes moving forward and not letting past losses define their future performance against other teams. Winston's struggles continue to be a focal point for the Giants' offense, but Banks' heroics demonstrate the importance of strong defensive play in securing victories. The Cardinals' inability to capitalize on opportunities contrasts with the Giants' ability to make big plays when needed most. LaFleur acknowledges the need for his team to stay positive and focused as they navigate through a challenging season. Winston's interception was pivotal, but Banks' return showcased the Giants' resilience and defensive capabilities under Harbaugh's guidance. The NFC East remains competitive, with each game potentially determining playoff positioning. LaFleur aims to keep his players motivated despite recent setbacks, emphasizing the importance of moving forward rather than dwelling on past losses. Winston's performance continues to be a topic of discussion as the Giants look for ways to improve their offensive efficiency without making costly mistakes. Banks' interception return was a defining moment in the game, highlighting the impact of strong defensive play under Harbaugh's leadership. LaFleur encourages his team to stay positive and focused on improving rather than feeling sorry for themselves after another close loss. The NFC East remains unpredictable with each team having its strengths and weaknesses, making it difficult to predict which team will emerge as the division winner. Winston's struggles continue to be a focal point for the Giants' offense, but Banks' heroics demonstrate the importance of strong defensive play in securing victories. LaFleur aims to keep his players motivated despite recent setbacks, emphasizing the need to stay positive and focused on improving their performance moving forward.

Written for “Giants' Pick-Six Win Over Cardinals” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Giants' Pick-Six Win Over Cardinals
Sports · 17 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

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This article reads unscored and hedges 2% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
42
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
2%
1 of 42 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
17
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 10939 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Stephen Whyno
42 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Kucherov is set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, the last of an eight-year, $76 million contract signed in 2018 before he helped Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup twice and led the NHL in scoring three times.
🔮 NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday he has a high comfort level in the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers safely playing in Paris on Sunday in light of the civil unrest that could include more protests this weekend in the capital and elsewhere around France.
🔮 Hurts is on injured reserve and expected to miss the rest of the season after a blood clot in his left calf traveled to his lungs.
🔮 Up next Ducks: Lukas Dostal is expected to start in net for the second half of their New York back-to-back set, Tuesday night at the Islanders.
🔮 After a tumultuous summer that included trading captain Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators started the season without winger Andre Burakovsky, lost top defenseman Jake Sanderson to injury six shifts into opening night and won’t have forward William Eklund for the next two months after he underwent surgery to repair torn tendons in his left ankle.
🔮 Perhaps offensive coordinator Matt Nagy will be able to get creative in using McCarthy — who is much more mobile than Winston — as a change of pace.
🔮 And forward William Eklund is out for what coach Travis Green estimated to be an extended period of time because of an injured left ankle.
🔮 After Anthony Volpe’s would-be tying homer in the bottom of the sixth inning turned into a double on video review, the Yankees did not get a runner past second base.
🔮 “Our first look would be internally, yes,” Harbaugh said Monday on a video call with reporters.
🔮 Lane is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Also by Stephen Whyno
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 42 articles by Stephen Whyno →

Topics

EAST RUTHERFORD Giants N.J. the Arizona Cardinals the New York Giants

Subjects

Brissett PERSON · 4× Harbaugh PERSON · 4× Winston PERSON · 4× Arvell Reese PERSON · 2× Giants ORG · 2× Nabers PERSON · 2× EAST RUTHERFORD GPE · 1× Jameis Winston PERSON · 1× N.J. GPE · 1× the New York Giants ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04
🔮 It was far from a masterpiece, but the New York Giants will take it.

Claims (42 extracted, 1 hedged)

Jameis Winston showed off the good, bad and ugly of his football career and it required another late defensive stand to get it done. asserted
it → show → stand
It was far from a masterpiece, but the New York Giants will take it. asserted
Giants → 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. asserted
Giants → throw → East
“It wasn’t the most beautiful game, as far as playing perfectly: It was a winning game,” coach John Harbaugh said. asserted
Harbaugh → play → ?
“That’s what winning teams do: They find ways to win games, and that’s why they’re winning teams.” asserted
they → ’ → 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. asserted
he → make → Fields
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. asserted
that → remain → drought
Winston finished 18 of 29 for 250 yards in a roller-coaster showing of highs and lows. asserted
Winston → finish → highs
J.J. McCarthy was in uniform six days after the Giants (3-1) acquired him in a trade with Minnesota but did not play. asserted
Giants → acquire → Minnesota
“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. asserted
McCarthy → give → game
Nabers more than doubled his receiving yardage this season by making six catches for 112 yards. asserted
Nabers → double → yards
He had 96 through his first three games back from a serious knee injury. asserted
He → have → injury
“I knew it was coming this game,” Nabers said. asserted
Nabers → know → ?
“I don’t know — I just felt good. asserted
I → know → ?
I felt good through the whole week. asserted
I → feel → 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.” asserted
game → want → me
The defense also made some big plays, sacking Brissett twice and rebounding from allowing two long touchdown drives in the first 12 minutes. asserted
defense → make → 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. asserted
Harbaugh → get → penalty
“I thought you had to touch a guy for it to be pass interference,” Harbaugh said. asserted
Harbaugh → think → guy
“He didn’t bat an eye. asserted
He → bat → eye
Nobody flinched, nobody blinked.” asserted
nobody → flinch → ?
Dominic Zvada continued to validate Harbaugh’s trust in another rookie kicker by improving to 9 of 9 on field goal attempts. asserted
Zvada → continue → 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. asserted
which → throw → play
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. asserted
Allgeier → blow → quarter
“We kind of got in our own way,” Brissett said. asserted
Brissett → get → way
“We made some plays after getting stops, but you can’t have three interceptions.” asserted
you → make → 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. asserted
Cardinals → gain → Chargers
“All three loses we’ve had over the last three weeks have been different,” LaFleur said. asserted
LaFleur → have → weeks
“This one is going to sting. asserted
one → go → ?
It’s not going to be the most fun ride home. asserted
It → go → ?
There are certainly things I know I could have done better. uncertain
I → be → ?
We have to get right back to work because no one is going to feel sorry for us.” asserted
one → have → us
Arvell Reese impresses in front of ‘LT’ Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese picked off Brissett for his first interception in the NFL as part of a dominant performance that included nine tackles. asserted
that → impress → 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. asserted
pick → do → halftime
“He has been great,” Taylor said. asserted
Taylor → say → ?
“I think he’s a good player.” asserted
he → think → ?
Safety Andrew Wingard was carted off with a knee injury and right guard Isaiah Adams with an ankle injury. asserted
Wingard → cart → injury
... Tight end Hunter Long left with a knee injury. ... asserted
Long → leave → injury
Left tackle Paris Johnson walked off the field holding his left arm late. asserted
Johnson → walk → arm
Giants: Receiver/returner Braxton Berrios (foot), defensive lineman Chauncey Golston (neck) and safety Jason Pinnock (concussion) left with injuries. asserted
Berrios → leave → injuries
…and 2 more, not listed.
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