Giants vs. Cardinals: Deonte Banks' 98-Yard Pick-Six Caps Jameis Winston's Wild Week 4 Ride

Twenty-two seconds left, first-and-goal from the 4, and a Giants defense still steaming over a pass interference flag on Deonte Banks that John Harbaugh would later call crazy. Three incompletions later, it was fourth down with the whole afternoon riding on one snap. Jacoby Brissett let it go, Banks caught it near his own goal line, and then he just kept running. Ninety-eight yards later, with zeros on the clock, MetLife Stadium turned into a mosh pit.

The New York Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-24 on Sunday, and Banks' pick-six was the exclamation point on a game that had everything: an 11-point hole, three lead changes, six combined turnovers and the full Jameis Winston experience. Winston threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions, the Giants improved to 3-1, and they now have the NFC East all to themselves.

From 14-3 Down to Full Party Mode

Arizona's start was as clean as it gets. Brissett capped an eight-play opening march with a 12-yard touchdown to Marvin Harrison Jr., and Tyler Allgeier later broke a 22-yard touchdown run. By the end of the first quarter it was 14-3, and per the team, the Cardinals had piled up 81 rushing yards on nine first-quarter carries.

Arvell Reese got home on Brissett and forced a lob that Greg Newsome II picked off, his first interception as a Giant, and the offense finally found the end zone when Winston hit rookie Malachi Fields for a 12-yard touchdown, the first of Fields' career. That score ended a nine-quarter touchdown drought for the Giants. The two-point try failed, so it was 14-12.

Reese then grabbed a pass batted by Shelby Harris and returned it to the Arizona 26, and Winston needed just two plays to drop a 25-yard touchdown in to Malik Nabers for a 19-14 lead. This being Winston, the next chapter was an interception that led to a 60-yard Chad Ryland field goal at the halftime horn. He threw another to open the third quarter, and Brissett turned it into a 2-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Higgins for a 24-19 Arizona lead.

Winston's response: nine plays, 76 yards, an 11-yard touchdown to Theo Johnson and a Najee Harris two-point run for a 27-24 lead late in the third. A Harris fumble in the fourth wasted a promising drive, but Jordan Stout pinned Arizona at its own 3 with six minutes left, and Dominic Zvada's 52-yarder with 2:11 remaining pushed the margin to six.

Winston's Roller Coaster, Nabers' Breakout

Making his second straight start for the injured Jaxson Dart, Winston finished 18 of 29 for 250 yards, three touchdowns and two picks. That's the Jameis package: you get the deep shots, you get the head-scratchers, and you hold on to the railing. J.J. McCarthy, acquired from Minnesota six days earlier, was in uniform but never played.

Nabers was the star of the offense. Six catches, 112 yards, a touchdown and a 39-yard jump ball on third-and-12 during the opening drive. According to the AP, he more than doubled his season receiving total, having managed 96 yards through his first three games back from a serious knee injury.

"I knew it was coming this game," Nabers said. "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."

Reese, the No. 5 pick in the draft, was everywhere: nine tackles, all solo, three passes defensed and his first NFL interception, all with Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor in the building for the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1986 Super Bowl team.

"He has been great," Taylor said. "I think he's a good player."

And Zvada? Three more makes from 39, 50 and 52 yards. The undrafted rookie is now 9 for 9 on the season and, per the team, the first Giants rookie to hit three 50-yarders in a season.

Fourth-and-Goal, 98 Yards, Zero Seconds

The defining sequence started with a flag Harbaugh couldn't believe. Banks was called for pass interference, setting Arizona up at the 4 with 22 seconds left.

"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."

Brissett threw three straight incompletions, one of them broken up by Banks, then tried one more time. Banks picked it off and took off on a 98-yard sprint that felt like a Mario Kart shortcut nobody else knew about.

"Tae Banks came through with a huge play after a crazy pass interference penalty," Harbaugh said.

Brissett (21 of 35, 166 yards, three picks) didn't dodge it: "We kind of got in our own way," he said. "We made some plays after getting stops, but you can't have three interceptions."

The Box Score's Greatest Hits

• 138: Yards Arizona gained after its two first-quarter touchdown drives, per the AP.
• 9 for 9: Zvada's field goal accuracy this season.
• 5-0: The Giants' record when Cam Skattebo gets 18 or more carries, per the team. He had exactly 18 for 58 yards.
• 6: Combined turnovers, three apiece. Arizona turned two Giants giveaways into 10 points; the Giants turned Reese's pick into a touchdown and took Banks' to the house.

The NFC East Has a New Landlord

The Giants are 3-1, unbeaten at MetLife and alone in first place in the division. Harbaugh is the sixth Giants head coach to open his tenure 3-0 at home, according to the team, and it's the franchise's first 3-0 home start since 2008. In the seven previous times the Giants won their first three home games since 1970, they made the playoffs every time. Nice omen for a team living on final-seconds interceptions.

"We're in good position for four games in, but it's only four games in," Harbaugh said.

Arizona, meanwhile, has lost three straight since winning Mike LaFleur's debut at the Chargers in Week 1. The Cardinals also watched safety Andrew Wingard (knee) and right guard Isaiah Adams (ankle) leave on carts, per the AP, which makes next week's visit from Detroit even tougher.

"This one is going to sting," LaFleur said. "It's not going to be the most fun ride home."

Winning Ugly Is Still Winning

Watching Winston is like binge-watching a reality show: you know the drama is coming, you just don't know which episode. The Giants keep surviving the plot twists anyway, and Harbaugh has fully embraced the genre.

"It wasn't the most beautiful game, as far as playing perfectly: It was a winning game," Harbaugh said. "That's what winning teams do: They find ways to win games, and that's why they're winning teams."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and Giants.com.