Giants Insider Reveals Cardinals' Biggest Problem Ahead of Week 4 Showdown

Patricia Traina of New York Giants On SI explains how the Giants plan to attack the Arizona Cardinals.

Sep 27, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) carries the ball during the first half against the Tennessee Titans at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants will collide at MetLife Stadium for a massive Week 4 battle, and to gain some valuable insight on how the home team will look, we spoke with Patricia Traina — Publisher of New York Giants On SI.

Five burning questions, and their answers:

1. The Giants are 2-1 thus far. What's the confidence level of this team, knowing Jaxson Dart is done for the rest of the year?

Traina: I think overall it’s high. I mean, what choice do you have? Yes, the injury stinks, whether it’s to Dart or any other player on the roster. You never want to see it. But there is a level of trust and confidence in each other and in the coaches to ensure they remain as competitive as possible, and that’s the message head coach John Harbaugh has been constantly preaching to the players.

2. Arizona has one of the worst pass defenses in the league. How do you think New York plans to attack the Cardinals' defense?

Traina: I suspect they’re going to get tight end Isaiah Likely and receiver Malik Nabers involved a LOT. The Giants like to run a lot of 12 personnel, but it’s not necessarily your true “heavy” package, meaning it’s not two burly tight ends out there throwing chips at the pass rush and then going out on shallow routes.

That’s the benefit of having a weapon like Likely. And I think they’re going to continue riding that for as long as they can.

3. Brian Burns is done for the year — where does the Giants' defense go from here?

Traina: The loss of Burns is devastating. He was one of their spiritual and emotional leaders, so you hate to see him go down.

I think what they will look to do, at least I hope will be the case, is put Jihad Ward inside down on the line, which is a role that Kayvon Thibodeaux was playing, and then have Thibodeaux on the outside, where he’s been more effective as a pass rusher. The Giants also need to do a better job up front with pushing the pocket. And I wonder if perhaps we could see more stunts dialed up to create confusion up front for the offensive blockers.

I mean, you don’t replace Brian Burns, but there are some things you can do to try to fill that loss.

4. Matchup you think can sway the game?

Traina: The Cardinals' quick passing game vs. the Giants' pass rush. So far, teams have thwarted the Giants' pass rush by getting rid of the ball quickly. Jacoby Brissett has a 98.1 passer rating when throwing the ball in 2.5 seconds or less, and he has also completed 76.3% of his pass attempts in that scenario, which puts him 11th among quarterbacks through the first three weeks.

So how do the Giants counter that? Is it more stunts? More blitzes? Brissett is also good against the blitz— he has a 70.6% completion rate when blitzed and when he has 2.5 seconds or less to throw. If the Giants can’t get him on the ground, or at best disrupt his timing, they could be in for a long day.

5. Final score prediction?

Traina: I’m so bad at predicting scores, but I’ll go with Giants 19, Cardinals 14. The Giants haven’t scored a touchdown in eight quarters, and I think that streak ends this weekend.