On Sunday, the New York Giants had a rare 27-27 overtime tie with the Washington Commanders.
While a majority of the postgame conversation centered around the odd way the game ended, as both teams failed to attempt a game-winning field goal in overtime, leading to a tie, it does feel important to mention the effort of Jameis Winston down the stretch of the ballgame.
Winston finished with 326 passing yards and three touchdowns during the tie; however, he was not the only quarterback the New York Giants utilized on Sunday as newly acquired J.J. McCarthy saw the field for a few snaps during the game. After the game, Winston shared his reaction to McCarthy replacing him for a few plays.
New York Giants Quarterback Jameis Winston Shares True Feelings on J.J. McCarthy’s Debut
Following the game, New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston was asked whether his rhythm was disrupted when J.J. McCarthy stepped in for a few plays. Winston replied, “I think coaches get paid a lot of money to make decisions and do what they do. I had a chance to play with one of the best ones (quarterbacks) of all time in Taysom Hill. So whatever is required for this to win, I am for that.”
Regarding McCarthy’s brief usage, Giants Wire’s Dan Benton stated that they “did not go well.” Benton wrote: “Recently acquired backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy made his Giants debut and took five snaps, nearly all of them ending in disaster. Each time he took the field, Washington knew an RPO or designed quarterback run was coming, and held him to two yards on two carries.”
Despite the mediocre results, head coach John Harbaugh appeared optimistic about McCarthy. When Harbaugh was asked if he liked what he saw in the limited snaps, he replied, “I do, and I think we’ll grow. We just have to see, it just all depends. I mean, the thing to me is, by any means necessary. We’re in a situation now where it’s by any means necessary. So we’re all on board for whoever, however. That’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve had guys bring [everybody we can], to whatever extent we have to. Sometimes it’s gonna work. Most of the time, it’s gonna work, we hope if we’re gonna get to where we want to go, and sometimes it’s not. So, we had a chance in a couple of those to make big plays. One of them got called back because of the formation. We had an illegal motion, so gotta clean some of that stuff up.”
Jameis Winston’s Performance
Meanwhile, starting quarterback Jameis Winston had his best performance of the season, which likely cooled off some of the chatter about McCarthy replacing him as the team’s starter.
He was named as a winner after the game by Giants on SI’s Alex House, who wrote: “The 32-year-old helped revive an offense that struggled for much of the afternoon. He led three straight touchdown drives in the second half and carried his signature fighting spirit on the sidelines.
Most importantly, Winston made fairly sound decisions. He put the Giants in position to win and further allayed previous concerns about his job status.”
Giants QB Jameis Winston Shares True Feelings After J.J. McCarthy Debut