The New York Giants are officially making a change at quarterback, benching veteran Jameis Winston in favor of J.J. McCarthy, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The decision comes just days after McCarthy nearly led the Giants to a comeback over the New Orleans Saints.
After coming in for relief of Winston in the fourth quarter, McCarthy led Big Blue to 17 straight points on three consecutive drives, completing 11-of-21 pass attempts for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also chipped in 26 rushing yards.
This will be McCarthy’s first start since coming to New York in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, and he faces a tall task in the Houston Texans.
Giants Officially Bench Jameis Winston
It problably wasn’t an easy decision to send Winston to the bench for the New York Giants. Despite his sporadic play, New York was 2-1-1 with him as the starter, and Winston is clearly a beloved figure in the locker room.
But the fact of the matter was that his play had gotten too sporadic. This past weekend against the New Orleans Saints, Winston was 14-of-26 for 152 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
He helped the Giants dig themselves into the hole that McCarthy nearly dug them out of.
Overall, in five games, Winston was completing 57% of his passes and threw for 957 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
Unfortunately, that’s just not starting-caliber quarterback play.
Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean McCarthy is going to instantly come in and play like he’s Jaxson Dart. We’re talking about a guy here who had some well-documented struggles in his first season as a starter with the Minnesota Vikings.
Over 10 starts with the Vikings last year, the former Michigan Wolverine completed 57.6% of his passes, threw for 1,632 passing yards, and tossed 12 touchdowns to go along with 11 interceptions.
Honestly, that sounds pretty similar to what Winston is capable of.
Regardless, the Giants coaching staff feel like McCarthy gives them a better chance to win, and if he can somehow achieve what he was able to in the fourth quarter against the Saints this Sunday, New York has a shot to take down a red-hot Texans team.
Politics Play a Factor in J.J. McCarthy Decision
As soon as the New York Giants made the trade to land McCarthy, you knew Winston’s time as the starting quarterback was limited.
New York dealt a 2027 fifth-round draft pick for the former first-round pick’s services, and while that’s not a hefty price, you don’t trade for a quarterback to let him ride the pine for the rest of the season.
The Giants were going to let Winston go for as long as he was leading them to wins. The last two weeks, the train started to come off the tracks.
Yes, Winston was in part responsible for one of the biggest Giants comebacks in franchise history in Week 5, when the team clawed back into the game against the Washington Commanders, but he also played a role in what was nearly a blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints this past Sunday.
McCarthy was always going to start at some point in 2026. The question was a matter of when, not if.
Giants Make Final Decision on J.J. McCarthy Starting vs. Texans