The Giants walked out of their Week 6 loss to the Saints with more than a defeat on the scoreboard. They left with a quarterback question that suddenly feels a lot messier than it did a few hours earlier.
New York was already navigating life without franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is out for the season. That had pushed the offense into Jameis Winston’s hands, and for a while the setup had been working well enough. Against New Orleans, though, everything unraveled in a 34-27 loss that forced head coach John Harbaugh to make a switch.
Winston’s afternoon went sideways after the Giants built a 10-point lead and then watched the game slip away. He had been in a groove coming into the matchup - Bobby Kownack of the NFL’s official website noted that Winston had thrown three touchdowns without an interception in two straight outings for the first time in his career - but Sunday brought the other side of his game. Harbaugh eventually pulled him after Winston overthrew two passes that turned into second-half interceptions.
That opened the door for J.J. McCarthy, the player the Giants just traded for from the Minnesota Vikings.
He entered with 11:25 left and New York down 24 points, and the first snap didn’t exactly calm things down. McCarthy threw an interception early.
Still, he settled in fast enough to matter.
Kownack described McCarthy as “far more dynamic than Winston in the pocket and provided a much-needed spark.” He also led scoring drives of 45, 73, and 79 yards, and nearly pushed the Giants into the end zone again after getting the ball back with just under a minute left.
So now the Giants are left with a real dilemma. Winston’s inconsistency showed up at the worst possible time, but McCarthy gave them enough in the fourth quarter to make him hard to ignore. Harbaugh has a choice to make, and the next quarterback decision is suddenly a lot less simple than it looked going into Week 6.
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Saints Win Turned On One Offensive Choice And Two Huge Defensive Plays
The Saints found a way to steady themselves after an early hole at MetLife Stadium, leaning on a mix of timely offense and dependable kicking to keep the Giants from fully separating. New Orleans answered the opening punch with touchdowns from Tyler Shough and Jameis Winston, while Daniel Carlsons field goals helped keep the pressure on a New York team that kept finding answers of its own.
The turning point came when the defense started changing possessions, with interceptions by Martin Emerson Jr. and Julian Blackmon giving New Orleans extra chances in a game that had already swung back and forth. Once those takeaways arrived, the Saints were able to keep pushing the pace and protect a lead that held up through the end. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Just Saw How Messy The Giants Backfield Has Become
The Giants backfield has taken another turn, and for a Saints team that already had a close eye on the NFC landscape, it is the kind of roster shuffle that stands out. New York is now down to Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary in the running back room, a group that has been in flux as the Giants continue to sort out how they want to distribute touches.
Najee Harris had been part of that mix until the latest change, even after the Giants made some unusual calls with his usage in recent weeks. His role had already been in question after Week 6, when the workload never matched what many expected, and the move leaves even more uncertainty around how the Giants plan to handle the position going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Game Just Intensified The Giants J.J. McCarthy Debate
Adam Thielen said the mood inside the Giants locker room was buoyed by J.J. McCarthys fourth-quarter surge against the Saints, even though the comeback effort came in a loss. McCarthy was making his first real impression after landing in New York from Minnesota, and for a stretch he looked every bit like a quarterback who could change the conversation around a team searching for a reset.
For New Orleans, the bigger issue is how quickly McCarthy turned a late, lopsided game into something worth dissecting. Thielen pointed to the reaction around the Giants after McCarthy stepped in for Jameis Winston and suddenly energized the offense, a reminder that one strong finish can ripple well beyond the final score and fuel an already uncomfortable debate about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]