Beat: Winston better than potential trade options

The fact that he has to think about it probably tips the hand that it will be J.J. McCarthy sooner or later — if not outright now. Jameis Winston was replaced by McCarthy in the fourth quarter yesterday and McCarthy showcased his deep arm and almost erased a large deficit by throwing for 243 yards on 21 attempts. If McCarthy did start against the Texans, he would likely be a bottom five superflex option on the Week 7 slate because of his established history as a starter.

It’s the exact kind of answer we would expect from a coach who is just minutes removed from his team nearly completing a comeback victory. J.J. McCarthy stepped in for Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter and lit up the Saints for 243 yards and one touchdown in the fourth quarter, leading the Giants on three scoring drives and 17 unanswered points in a game that the Saints won 34-27. Whether it’s in Week 7 or a point later in the season, McCarthy feels like a lock to start multiple games for the Giants, who now sit at 3-2-1 on the season. The Jameis Winston Experience, while fun, is often short-lived, and his underwhelming performance on Sunday against the Saints (152-1-2) comes a week after Winston struggled for the entire first half against the Commanders before he turned it on in the second half. Harbaugh will likely announce his Week 7 starter in the coming days, but it wouldn’t be surprising to learn the team is handing McCarthy the keys for the remainder of the season.

Winston led a struggling offense in Week 6, scoring one touchdown in the first half. Winston’s offense did all of its scoring in the first half and possessed the ball in a very limited fashion in the second half. He averaged 5.8 yards per attempt and threw a pair of interceptions in the second half in an otherwise lackadaisical offensive day. Winston was replaced by J.J. McCarthy in the fourth quarter; the Giants scored 17 points under McCarthy. Winston remains a volatile fantasy QB2, though it is a very real possibility that he is not the starter for Week 7 against the Texans.

Who is asking for this? McCarthy was on the field for three plays in Week 5. They gained three yards, two of which came from McCarthy on a pair of rush attempts. After flaming out as a traditional quarterback in Minnesota, McCarthy is working his way toward becoming the next Taysom Hill. Jameis Winston remains the starter, but Harbaugh will use McCarthy as a change-of-pace option a few times each week. He could also take over as the starter if Winston struggles for an extended period of time, though we appear to be at least a few weeks away from that being a consideration.

After a shaky first half in which he threw for just 72 yards on 16 passes, Winston locked in for the second half and nearly led the Giants to a comeback win. Winston completed 21-of-28 passes for 211-3-0 in the second half, leading the Giants on touchdown drives of 63, 75, and 72 yards. Winston connected with tight end Isaiah Likely on a three-yard touchdown pass for his first of the day, and found Likely again for a 17-yard score on a fourth-and-eight to cut Washington’s lead to 27-20. On their final touchdown drive, Winston connected with Malik Nabers four times and found him in the end zone for a leaping touchdown grab to tie the game at 27-27 with less than two minutes left in regulation. In overtime, Winston twice moved the Giants into field-goal range. Unfortunately, they would only get one chance at attempting a go-ahead field goal. After Dominic Zvada missed the first try, a fumble by Cam Skattebo would cost the Giants any hopes of a second attempt to win the game. Winston has thrown for 576 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions in his last two games while attempting just over 60 percent of his passes. He profiles as a mid-to-low-end QB2 next week against the Saints.

Today was something of a “Full Jameis,” as the unpredictable No. 2 quarterback also took four sacks. He thankfully didn’t add any fumbles, while he found each of Malik Nabers, Malachi Fields and reserve TE Theo Johnson for touchdowns. The Nabers grab, a 25-yarder vs. LB Mack Wilson’s hopeless coverage, was Winston’s longest score. His longest completion was a 40-yarder to Fields where he got flushed from the pocket on a third quarter 3rd-and-20. It was a devastating outcome for the Cardinals, to put it mildly. Winston’s mistakes were legion this afternoon — both of his picks were awful, awful passes — but it was a much livelier effort than the G-Men or fantasy managers saw in Weeks 2 and 3. This version of Jameis might actually keep the G-Men in games while holding off J.J. McCarthy for a little while. The Commanders are an unimposing Week 5 road matchup.

Everyone but Harbaugh knew Dart wasn’t returning for the playoffs the moment his meniscus repair procedure was announced. Harbaugh, meanwhile, held out hope that his starting quarterback could return in time for a deep playoff run. Even he isn’t keeping that facade up anymore, though he noted that Dart’s surgery “went well.” Coming off an ugly win, Jameis Winston will make his second start of the year in Week 4. J.J. McCarthy will get a crack at the job when the Giants inevitably start losing.

New York acquired McCarthy from the Vikings on Monday in exchange for a 2027 fifth round draft pick. Hughes spoke with NFL sources who said “the Giants do not give up a fifth-round pick unless they plan to play McCarthy in the near future.” Head coach John Harbaugh and the team’s coaching staff, per Hughes, see McCarthy as a starting-caliber quarterback despite his immense struggles in Minnesota last season. “The Giants welcomed the chance to add a player they view as a competitor, gritty, mobile, and who has all the tools to be a plus passer in the NFL,” Hughes said. With Jameis Winston playing worse than any QB in recent memory, McCarthy could be just a couple weeks away from taking over as New York’s starter. He would be a mild upgrade for Malik Nabers and the rest of the Giants pass catchers.

Jameis will be the starter for “as long as I can see into the future” per Harbaugh, so we’re guessing maybe 2-3 weeks. It will likely take J.J. McCarthy some time to get up to speed with the Giants. Winston has played woeful football through two appearances, not throwing a touchdown and being held under 120 yards twice despite 49 pass attempts over the past two weeks. Winston will be a bottom-end superflex option in Week 4.

The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report the trade. McCarthy landing with John Harbaugh’s Giants feels a bit too on-the-nose given his connection with Jim Harbaugh during his days at Michigan. McCarthy was at one point competing for the Vikings’ QB1 job in camp with Kyler Murray, but was knocked all the way down to QB3 on the Vikings’ depth chart when Carson Wentz took over for Murray in Week 1 and drew the start in Week 2. Assuming Jameis Winston doesn’t suddenly exceed expectations and lead an efficient passing attack, McCarthy will probably get a shot to start at some point when he gets up to speed with the offense. McCarthy has thrown for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 career games while completing 57.6 percent of his passes. We’ll see if a change of scenery is all he needs to turn the corner and live up to the hype that made him the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.