Can we stop now with the breathless drum-banging for J.J. McCarthy to replace Jameis Winston as quarterback of the New York Giants sooner rather than later?
The Giants unquestionably lose Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders without Winston’s heroics — 254 yards passing and three touchdowns, two of those in the final eight minutes of regulation to erase a 14-point deficit, and the first 50+ pass game of his 12-year career without an interception. Albeit, the last fact comes with help from
a questionable call.
Winston, as he reminded reporters recently, is the Giants’ starting quarterback. With Jaxson Dart gone for the season, he deserves to be.
The Giants, trailing 12-3 and with just 77 yards of total offense in the first half, changed things up after halftime. They went with more no-huddle, and put the game on Winston’s right arm. He went 26 of 38 after intermission and had the Giants in position to win the game twice in overtime. The Giants scored three touchdowns and a field goal on their four third- and fourth-quarter possessions.
Had the Giants lost in the extra session on Sunday, that would not have been on Winston. Over the final 40 minutes of play, he did everything a quarterback can do to give his team a chance to win. In overtime, Dominic Zvada’s 46-yard missed field goal and Cam Skattebo’s untimely fumble denied the Giants a chance to get to 4-1.
“I thought he [Winston] was amazing in the fourth quarter. I thought he was amazing in the second half,” said head coach John Harbaugh. “I thought his ability to come out and change like that. And I felt we changed our offense up, we tried some different things, and he really settled into the things we did offensively. And he was amazing.
“First half, he wasn’t. He’d be the first to tell you that, but that’s on everybody. I tell the guys, nothing
good is all the one person. We’re all responsible for all the good, and we’re all responsible for all the
bad or the not good. And so, he’s right in the mix with everybody else that way. I called him up, broke
the huddle, I said, what he showed out there was really remarkable.”
Winston was matter-of-fact about the performance.
“I think when your back is against the wall, you have to depend on your playmakers, and I think we
did a good job of doing that, getting the guys the football, and mixing up on them, and kind of just
threw them off schedule,“ Winston said.
“We never give up, and our focus is to do whatever is required for us to win a football game. And I’m
just grateful that the guys rose to the challenge, and we put on tape what we’re capable of doing if the
game has to go the other way. However, we still have to, you know, focus on the things that we can
control, and the things that we can control are us being our very best on every single play.”
Winston is now 2-0-1 in three games replacing Dart. Even after Sunday, he was again asked about the skepticism in some quarters that he should be the starting quarterback.
“I always focus on what my heart desires, and I say this over and over again, my desire is to be the
New York Football Giants Super Bowl-winning quarterback. My desire is to be a great starting
quarterback in the NFL. I dreamed of this, and this is who I am, and I know that I’m going to continue
to get better and find ways to help this team win football games.”
The Giants are an imperfect team. Their flaws are evident each time they play. You can easily argue that that they are a few twists and turns from being 1-4 instead of 3-1-1 and in first place in the there-for-the-taking NFC East.
In some ways, Winston is the perfect quarterback for the Giants in this place and time. He is obviously imperfect. There is always an element of ‘which team is he going to throw it to?’ when Winston drops back to pass. Sometimes, his eyes look like saucers ready to pop out of his head. He looks awkward when he starts to move around the pocket. Especially with two hands wrapped around the ball, with the obvious intent of trying to protect it. His facemask somehow makes him look like he should be playing the 1960s.
Yet, Winston, like these Giants just keeps playing and keeps slinging the rock, mistakes or no mistakes.
“It’s faith. When you have unwavering faith, you’re not phased by the circumstances, conditions, and
facts. That’s something that I am continuing to share with the guys, I say ‘let’s not get phased’,“ Winston said.
“Russell Wilson used to always say this thing, and one of his good friends wrote a book called ‘Remain
Neutral’. I think Russ did an incredible job that no matter the highs or the lows, he remained neutral. I
was happy I was able to pick that up from him. Also understanding, biblically, one of my favorite
verses, Philippians 4:13 says ‘I can do all things through Christ, through him who strengthens me’.
Before that, Paul (an apostle) is in jail. He’s talking about being happy with a lot and being happy with
a little. At the end of the day, he’s learned the secret to being content. That is: taking whatever you
get, do what you can with what you have, where you have it, and making the most out of it.”
Winston and the Giants have been doing that no matter the circumstances thus far. Maybe the time will come when Winston plays his way out of the starting quarterback job. Right now, though, he is the starting quarterback.
And there is no reason for that to change.
A few other quick ‘things I think’
- The chatter that the Giants’ pass rush stinks needs to stop.
- These two numbers, which I dropped into ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’, are insane. I have to trace them to the belief Harbaugh has instilled in this team that if they just keep going, they will have a chance.
— Per the FOX broadcast, the Giants had lost 24 straight games when trailing at halftime. Well, at least now they have not lost 25 straight.
— From ESPN Insights, comes this unbelievable nugget. Entering today, the Giants were 0-230 since 1970 when trailing by 14+ points in the final 8 minutes of regulation. They’re now 0-230-1.
“The one thing that has become very evident is what is inside of our players. Their heart, their grit, their mental toughness, their ability to overcome adversity is A plus, plus, plus. And that showed up today, so I’m very proud of that. And I’m also very excited for the fact that we can improve so much. We improved throughout the game, we did a lot of really good things … So, proud of the guys though, for their fight. Would have wanted the outcome to be a win, and we’ll talk about that now, I’m sure. But there’s a lot to be proud of.”
- Until overtime on Sunday, the run-blocking was horrid. I can’t help but think that sometimes teams need running backs who can make players miss, and who make their blockers right. I’m not sure the Giants have that. It’s why they had interest in Kenneth Walker and Jeremiyah Love this offseason.
- If I’m Commanders owner Josh Harris, I would be seriously considering firing Dan Quinn this morning. You simply cannot botch the clock management at the end of the game, giving your quarterback conflicting — and wrong — guidance, as a veteran head coach and not find your job in jeopardy.
