Abdul Carter Snubbed From PFF's Team of the Week Despite Dominant Showing in Giants' Win

Arvell Reese and Deonte Banks earned the nod after game-defining plays against the Cardinals, but Carter's 90.1 grade and six pressures made him a worthy third.

Oct 4, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks (2) celebrates after the game against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Giants' rollercoaster 36-24 Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals, during which the franchise honored the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Super Bowl championship team loaded with special defenders, wasn't a masterclass on that side of the ball early on.

Big Blue's latest edition came out slow in the first quarter, allowing the Cardinals to punch 14 quick points onto the scoreboard in their first two possessions and giving fans some concern that the outcome wouldn't be very pretty for the home team.

However, Dennard Wilson's group brought back some shades of the 1986 core as the Giants traded blows with Arizona in the second half.

On the final possession, a few key faces helped power what became the second consecutive goal-line stand, putting an exclamation point on a thrilling victory that now puts the Giants atop the NFC East after a quarter of the season.

Two of those players were rookie linebacker Arvell Reese and cornerback Deonte Banks, each of whom earned a spot on Pro Football Focus' NFL Team of the Week.

Two Giant Swings of Momentum by Reese and Banks

New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese (52) celebrates after blocking a pass, Sunday, October 4, 2026, in East Rutherford. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

One could ponder just how differently the Giants' latest win might have gone if it weren't for the heroics of Reese and Banks, who each made game-defining plays at critical moments.

For Reese, his biggest impact on the scoreboard came in the late minutes of the second quarter, after the Giants had just scored a touchdown yet failed on the two-point conversion attempt to cut the Cardinals' lead to 14-12.

Shutting the door on them near the goal line could have been the catalyst for Arizona to march back down the field, punch in a potential third touchdown that day and silence the MetLife faithful who had been making their voices heard all game long.

Instead, Reese, whose efforts included one pressure, two pass deflections and five run stops, came up big on the next defensive drive with his first NFL interception off a timely tip by Shelby Harris. That put the ball back in the Giants' hands, and Malik Nabers turned it into a 25-yard touchdown catch to put them up 19-14.

No play all season might have been bigger than Banks' decisive interception on the cusp of the goal line as the Giants' defense was once again tested by a surging Cardinals offense searching for the buzzer-beating touchdown.

Banks, who has increasingly drawn the ire of Giants fans for his lack of improvement in coverage, came into this season needing to show he could finally reach the level of play expected of him when he was taken as a first-round pick in 2023.

After two head coach and three defensive coordinator changes, it's all coming together for Banks, who leads the Giants in coverage grade and who has allowed just seven catches for 42 yards on 16 targets.

He added to that resume by perfectly cutting off a ball aimed for Cardinals receiver Michael Wilson and returning it 98 yards to the house to close the door on their comeback.

It was a day when the organization honored the spirit of grittiness on defense, and it was the perfect allusion to that when two current defenders flipped the game with the team's backs against the wall.

Where's Abdul Carter?

Sep 27, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter (3) warms up before the game against the Tennessee Titans at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While it was nice to see a pair of Giants players get recognition for their performances, a third defender should have easily joined his teammates on that list: Abdul Carter.

PFF passed on the Giants' No. 3 overall pick for a duo of veterans: Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson and Kansas City's George Karlaftis at edge. Both had strong individual performances over the league's Week 4 slate, but we beg to differ that they were better than Carter's.

Hutchinson was the usual key pass-rush cog in the Lions' defense, creating eight pressures, including two hits, and earning a 24.2% pass-rush win rate.

Even with his efforts, the Lions gave up 30-plus points for the third time as they lost to the Panthers, 32-26, and their unit dropped to dead last in total opponent production.

Meanwhile, Karlaftis bested both edge men in the pressures category with a season-high 11, along with seven hits and a 22.4% win rate that helped the Chiefs beat the Las Vegas Raiders in a divisional rock fight.

For Carter, he arguably had the best of both worlds after being quiet in his previous two games. He gave the Cardinals' offensive line fits in his season-high 64 defensive snaps (39 pass rush), notching a team-leading 90.1 PFF grade with six pressures, three hits, and a 32.4% win rate.

Carter's efficiency was clearly higher than both of his competitors', and it was made sweeter by the fact that the Giants won the contest behind a relentless defensive attack that he had become a leader in following Brian Burns' season-ending ACL injury.

The second-year pro is another example of a young player whose career is heading in the right direction under the tutelage of John Harbaugh, and he has the chance to become a household name if he continues to lead the Giants' pass rush into a weekly force on Sundays.

It only took four weeks for any member of the Giants roster to get the nod from PFF, but if they weighed things by the scoreboard, the Week 4 group could have been painted a little more New York blue with Carter's nomination.

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