Malachi Fields didn’t need a monster stat line to leave a mark on Sunday. He needed one clean release, one well-timed throw from Jameis Winston, and one first NFL touchdown to help flip the Giants’ day against the Cardinals.
With Arizona leading 14-6, New York moved inside the 20-yard line and Fields sold a block before slipping free upfield. Winston rolled right and delivered the pass, and Fields turned it into a 12-yard score - the Giants’ first trip to the end zone on the afternoon. It also gave New York its first lead of the game, and the Giants took control from there.
That touchdown mattered for more than just the scoreboard. It was the first of Fields’ NFL career and the first in a Giants uniform, a milestone moment for a rookie who has quietly started carving out a bigger role.
Earlier in the game, he had already shown what he can bring to the offense with a 40-yard catch-and-run. By the end of the day, he had two receptions for 52 yards and that score, both career highs in a game.
Fields now has exactly two catches in each of New York’s games this season. Through four weeks, he’s up to 8 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown. For a 3-1 Giants team, that kind of steady involvement could lead to even more opportunities as Winston continues settling in as the starting quarterback.
The matchup also put Fields across from another former Notre Dame teammate, Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love, in the third such rookie-on-rookie reunion of the season. Love had production of his own, rushing for 63 yards on 14 carries in Arizona’s 36-24 loss. But the Cardinals still leaned on him in the 20s and, oddly, pulled him once the game tightened up late.
Fields and Love spent just one season together in South Bend. Fields transferred to Notre Dame before the 2025 season with the goal of helping the Irish return to the National Title Game. In that lone year, he started all 12 games, averaged 17.5 yards per catch, and finished second on the team with 630 receiving yards and 5 touchdown receptions.
Even with a regular season that was good but not great, Fields boosted his stock by turning heads in postseason settings like the Senior Bowl. That strong finish helped push him onto draft boards, and the Giants took him in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Freeman also framed the victory as another test of the teams mental toughness, especially in a game that never really let the Irish fully relax. With Stanford next on the schedule and the Legends Trophy in the mix, the message was clear: Notre Dame has the physical pieces in place, but the bigger challenge now is carrying that edge and composure into another meaningful game. [Read more 🡒]