An old football adage, widely attributed to John Madden, states: "If you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any."
Perhaps the New York Giants are unfamiliar with the quote – they deployed both Jameis Winston and J.J. McCarthy in their matchup against the Washington Commanders in Week 5.
For McCarthy, it was his debut with Big Blue after the Giants acquired him in a late September trade. Winston played most of the snaps in his fourth appearance and third start of the year after starter Jaxson Dart's injury in Week 2.
McCarthy entered the Week 5 matchup as the primary backup quarterback to Winston. The Giants also had Jake Haener up from the practice squad and on their active roster for the Oct. 11 game. He was listed as the emergency third quarterback on their inactives
list.
In total, McCarthy played four snaps through the first three and a half quarters against the Commanders. He made two pass attempts against Washington and ran twice. Both of McCarthy's passes were complete but wiped out by penalties on New York, so he didn't officially tally any attempts (or completions) in the box score before the fourth quarter.
Here's how McCarthy played in his first outing as a Giant:
J.J. McCarthy Week 5 stats
McCarthy took limited snaps in his first appearance with the Giants. Here's how it looked by the numbers through three and a half quarters:
- Snaps: 4
- Completion rate: N/A
- Passing yards: N/A
- Yards per attempt: N/A
- Touchdowns: 0
- Interceptions: 0
- Rushing: Two rush attempts for two yards
J.J. McCarthy Giants video
McCarthy's first pass attempt was a short pass to Darnell Mooney that was wiped out by a face mask by the Commanders' defense.
His second pass attempt was another short throw – one to third-year receiver Malik Nabers, who picked up a first down with his legs – but it was also wiped out by a penalty. The second penalty was against the Giants for an illegal shift.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: J.J. McCarthy makes New York Giants debut in Week 5. See his stats
