New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh liked what the no-huddle tempo produced in the second half against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, and indicated it should remain part of the offense with Jameis Winston under center.
The Giants managed limited production before the break. Once the staff shifted to tempo and drop-back concepts, the offense generated most of its scoring in a 27-27 game. Harbaugh said the approach has been in the system from the start and that Sunday simply provided the chance to use it.
“It was good, no question. We’ve been talking about some of the tempo stuff. We’ve been working on that. It’s been part of our system from day one, really. It’s something we built in from the beginning," Harbaugh told reporters. "And
it was good to get to it. We’ve been talking about getting to it. We got to it maybe because we had to.
"Maybe game flow forced us to do it, but it was a good thing in that sense. So yeah, it opened up the offense. It was good to see, and it probably needs to be part of what we’re doing going forward."
Winston finished 33 of 54 for 326 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, all three scores coming after halftime. Harbaugh has consistently pointed to the quarterback’s outlook as a factor in how the unit responds when results are uneven.
“It’s awesome. I mean, it’s how important is it for a person? I mean, it’s the best thing to be around, and it’s genuine. I mean, he’s a very strong-faith person. He’s a very strong Christian. He is a very good guy. He works extremely hard. He’s very motivated. He’s an unbelievable competitor. He’s tough as can be. He’s a fighter, and he just doesn’t let adversity get him down,” Harbaugh said.
He added that Winston’s habit of recovering from setbacks matches the pattern he sees in successful people.
“It’s not how many times you get knocked down; it’s how many times you get back up. You need to be plus one in the get up category. And that’s exactly what he does every single day of his life, I would say,” Harbaugh said.
The tempo sequences gave the Giants their most effective offensive stretch of the day. Harbaugh’s comments suggest that look, and the quarterback’s consistent approach, will both factor into how the offense is built from here.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants may go more up-tempo after unlocking offense in Week 5
