luckadjusted
NFL Week 3 · 2026

NFL · Week 4 2026 · Sunday, October 4

Cardinals vs Giants prediction and pick

Our Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants pick: Giants by 0.9, 53% to win, against a betting line of Cardinals −2.5. The forecast starts from what each team’s play has been worth once the luck is adjusted for, adds last season, who starts at quarterback and who is out hurt, and home field. No betting information goes in.

Updated every day until kickoff, then frozen and scored. After the game this page shows who deserved to win.

Why the curves are so wide: luck. Even with both teams’ strength known exactly, one game’s bounces, kicks, calls and sequencing move the final margin by about ±12.1 points (one standard deviation, measured from every play since 2019). These forecasts carry ±12.9, so about 88% of the width is that luck; the rest is what nobody knows yet about the teams. That is why a 7-point favorite still loses about 3 times in 10.

Cardinals at Giants

Sun, Oct 4, 1:00 pm ET · MetLife Stadium

Giants by 0.9 · 53% to win · line Cardinals −2.5

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Cardinals win47.1%
Giants win52.9%
Middle 50%: Cardinals by 7 to Giants by 1050%
Middle 90%: Cardinals by 21 to Giants by 2290%
Middle 95%: Cardinals by 24 to Giants by 2695%
Exactly Giants by 38.5%
Exactly Cardinals by 38.2%
Exactly Giants by 75.2%
Exactly Cardinals by 74.8%
Exactly Giants by 103.6%
P50
Half of games like this end between Cardinals by 7 and Giants by 10.
P90
9 in 10 between Cardinals by 21 and Giants by 22.
P95
19 in 20 between Cardinals by 24 and Giants by 26.

Jameis Winston starts for the Giants in place of Jaxson Dart.

Out or doubtful: Cardinals: Will Johnson (CB); Giants: Paulson Adebo (CB), Brian Burns (LB), Roy Robertson-Harris (DT).

Where the forecast comes from
Home fieldGiants+2.3
QuarterbacksCardinals+1.8
InjuriesCardinals+1.1
Last seasonGiants+0.7
This season, adjusted for luckGiants+0.7

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Cardinals 1–2 1.0 +0.2
Giants 2–1 1.2 +1.0

Coin-flip wins: the wins each team’s games were worth with only the kicks, bounces, drops and calls re-rolled, the record adjusted for luck. Luck in wins: actual wins minus what the play was worth.

Cardinals vs Giants: questions and answers

Who will win Cardinals vs Giants?

Our forecast picks the Giants, with 53% to win; the Cardinals win 47% of the time.

What’s the spread for Cardinals vs Giants?

Our spread: Giants −0.9. The betting line: Cardinals −2.5. Ours uses no betting information, so where the two differ is where our read of the teams differs from the market’s.

When is Cardinals vs Giants?

Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET, at MetLife Stadium.