Skeptics of former draft bust Deonte Banks’ resurgent training camp wanted to see him take his renewed success from the practice field into a game.
He checked that box Sunday with four tackles and two passes defended in the Giants’ 28-20 victory against the Cowboys.
It was obvious in practice (but went unacknowledged by head coach John Harbaugh other than on the unofficial depth chart) when Banks was rewarded for his career-salvaging summer by starting at cornerback over Paulson Adebo.
“I think Deonte did a great job,” safety Jevón Holland said. “I love his energy, I love his demeanor, I love how he treats his teammates. He earned that job for a reason, and I think everybody in the facility would tell you the same thing.”
It wasn’t all smooth for Banks, who gave up a 1-yard touchdown catch to CeeDee Lamb in the second quarter. Earlier in the drive, a safety seemed to be yelling at Banks about his alignment.
Banks was in and out of the game in the second half while dealing with cramping.
But Banks showed greater effort pursuing the ball, especially in the run game, than he has over his past two trying seasons. He kept a receiver inbounds to wind the clock in the two-minute drill and broke up a pass that might have set up a half-ending field goal attempt if completed.
Adebo counts for a team-high $21.4 million on the salary cap — as general manager Joe Schoen’s prized signing in the 2025 free-agent class — but he was outplayed in the summer by Banks and 2026 free agent addition Greg Newsome II.
It was a long road back for Banks, a former first-round pick who played zero defensive snaps in two December games last season.
It was around that time that Banks began returning kickoffs — to have some value — and he remained in that role Sunday night.
CB Dru Phillips, who led the Giants defense with nine penalties last season, committed three defensive pass interference penalties against the Cowboys. He ranked No. 15 in the NFL last year in penalties.
Ar’Darius Washington will be nipping at Phillips’ heels.
Bronx native Jose Alvarado — the championship-winning backup point guard for the Knicks — was celebrated on the field during the second quarter.
The Giants inactivated TE Thomas Fidone II, OL J.C. Davis, DT Bobby Jamison-Travis, CB Nic Jones, S Jason Pinnock, RB Najee Harris and WR Dalen Cambre.
Cambre was signed to the 53-man roster Saturday as insurance in case Malik Nabers did not play. Cambre went through a full pregame warmup — a sign that Nabers’ status really was up in the air until about 90 minutes before kickoff.
Harris is the most interesting scratch because it puts him No. 4 on the fluid running back depth chart. It is possible that the backup pecking order could rotate from week to week with Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. — and Tracy did himself no favors by fumbling in the red zone on his second carry of the season.
