Giants-Cardinals Week 4 Storylines: J.J. McCarthy Arrives, Pass Rush Under Pressure

The New York Giants escaped last week’s rain-soaked, miserable day at MetLife Stadium with a 12-7 win against the Tennessee Titans, their second straight game without a touchdown since losing starting quarterback Jaxson Dart.

But that kind of luck can only go so far; sooner rather than later, the offense will need to start getting into the end zone.

There’s no time like the present, as in this coming weekend against an Arizona Cardinals team that in three games thus far has allowed 81 points to its opponents, the ninth most in the NFL.

With the Giants’ 1986 Giants team due in the house to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Super Bowl XXI championship, the modern-day Giants best not dampen the scheduled halftime celebration by coming out flat.

It will all start at quarterback for Big Blue. Jameis Winston has already been named the starter by head coach John Harbaugh, but the holder of the league’s 32nd-ranked quarterback rating has to play better than he has through nearly two games in which he’s only completed 51% of his pass attempts, again a league worst.

What other storylines should you watch this week? Let’s dive in.

J.J. McCarthy Arrives

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy begins his first week as a member of the New York Giants. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Newly acquired quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who will sport No. 18, joined his new teammates on Tuesday for meetings, beginning what Harbaugh said will be a “crash course” in learning the team’s playbook.

“We're going to have to get a good feel for where he's at in terms of terminology,” Harbaugh said when asked what the approach would be in getting McCarthy up to speed.

It will help some that the Giants coaches know a little bit about the Vikings offense, which will help them understand how McCarthy might be seeing the game. But the real challenge for McCarthy, according to Harbaugh, will be learning the protections.

“The way we set up the protections or the way we flip the protections or the way we check the protections, all that kind of stuff, that's going to be a little bit of a work in progress probably, but there will be a lot of foundational knowledge because he's been playing quarterback for a long time, and he's been in a good system – a system that's somewhat similar to what we do.”

Who’s QB2?

New York Giants quarterback Jake Haener is expected to be QB2 on Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Harbaugh said he didn’t know at the time who would back up Winston on Sunday, but it’s hard to fathom it not being Jake Haener, who, as of Tuesday night, was trying to get back to the Giants' practice squad.

Is there a chance McCarthy could leapfrog Haener? That all depends on how quickly he picks up the language of the Giants offense and how complex the game plan will be.

But if the Giants continue to lean as heavily on the running game as they have in the first three weeks, McCarthy may be ready to roll much sooner than anyone expects.

Injury Updates

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks has been nursing a calf injury for two weeks. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

For the second week in a row, the Giants will need to regroup following a season-ending injury to a major star. This week it’s outside linebacker Brian Burns, whose torn ACL lands him on the injured reserve list for the rest of the season.

Besides Burns, the only other new injury of note to come from last week’s game was the facial laceration suffered by fullback Patrick Ricard, though that injury may not even land him on the injury report this week.

The other injured Giants worth watching include left tackle Andrew Thomas, who has been on the report now for three straight weeks with various injuries (knee, ankle, and groin), cornerback Deonte Banks, who has missed two games with a calf injury, and starting safety Tyler Nubin, who missed last week with a calf injury as well.

Finding a Pass Rush

Sep 13, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With Burns sidelined, Kayvon Thibodeaux will have to step up as the new starter and take on a much bigger role on defense.

“I’ve just got to play my game. I’ve got to command, and I’ve got to make my presence known,” Thibodeaux said when asked about his confidence.

How does he plan to do that?

“Just by playing hard, making plays, and being there for my team.”

Thibodeaux is off to a quiet start so far. In 91 pass-rushing snaps, he has three total tackles, four pressures, no sacks, and no tackles for loss.

If he wants that big payday in free agency next year, that has to start changing now.

A Lot of ‘Love’ for the Run Defense

Sep 27, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love (4) before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Giants were heavily linked to Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, now with the Cardinals, during the pre-draft process.

While only those inside 1925 Giants Drive know just how real their interest was in Love, it's up to Big Blue to see if all that work they did on what Love does well and what he doesn’t can be used to stop him from gashing their run defense.

The Giants have allowed 313 yards on the ground to opponents, which is 12th in the league. However, they rank 25th in average yards per rush allowed (4.7), and have allowed an average of 1.89 yards before contact, which is 29th in the league.

The good news is that the Cardinals have averaged 3.6 yards per rushing attempt, 26th overall, with Love averaging 3.9 yards per carry.

The Giants can’t let Love have his breakout game against them.

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