New York

Giants

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.

Singletary saw 31 snaps on the day, leading Giants running backs in a pass-happy game script. It’s unclear what the Giants backfield will look like moving forward, but it’s a messy committee for now. Singletary and Tyrone Tracy seem to be the preferred options for passing down snaps, though Tracy is the preferred choice for more high leverage situations. Singletary is worth a waiver claim but fantasy managers should stay tuned to wade through the coach-speak and see what this Giants backfield looks like for Week 7 against the Texans.

With Cam Skattebo facing a soft benching due to fumbling issues, Tracy saw the second-most running back snaps in a pass-happy game script. He opened scoring with a 17-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter and followed it up with a five-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter. The Giants backfield remains murky after Skattebo saw zero touches and no Giants back rushed for over 20 yards. Tracy is worth rostering as a potential FLEX play for Week 7 against the Texans.

Harris started the game for the Giants after it was reported Cam Skatteboo would be downgraded after his fumble issues. Fantasy managers that picked up Harris to start or stash will be immensely disappointed to see four carries and 11 snaps on the day. A pass-heavy game script played a role in that, but he totaled just two yards and has been a largely ineffective runner this season. Harris can remain off fantasy rosters heading into Week 7 against the Texans.

Before the game, it was widely reported that the Giants would start Najee Harris with Skattebo dealing with fumbling issues to start the season. This was indeed the case as Skattebo saw zero touches and just six snaps on the day, last among all four Giants running backs. After the game, head coach John Harbaugh insisted the team did not bench Skattebo, but it’s hard to see this as anything else. Fantasy managers will be hoping Skattebo will be out of the dog house after no Giants running backs surpassed 20 yards rushing against a poor Saints run defense. He is cautiously in the RB3 ranks until further notice.

Fields saw a season-high eight targets, but caught just two of those passes for 19 yards. The Giants passing game behind Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely isn’t productive for fantasy purposes. Darnell Mooney had a carry for 20 yards while Charlie Jones caught 2-of-3 passes for 66 yards. Fields is the best option past Nabers and Likely, but he can be left on fantasy benches for Week 7 against the Texans.

Likely scored his fifth touchdown of the season and third over the last two games. He also caught a two point conversion, with all his scoring coming in the fourth quarter from J.J. McCarthy. The pass-heavy game script helped Likely salvage his fantasy day late in the game as he saw double-digit targets for the third straight game and fourth time this season. Now averaging 9.8 targets per game, Likely is squarely in the fantasy TE1 ranks heading into a tough Week 7 matchup against the Texans.

Nabers was once again heavily involved in the Giants’ passing game, getting the first offensive touch for New York. He saw 15 targets and tallied 165 scoreless yards on the day, with over half of this yardage coming with J.J. McCarthy in the fourth quarter. It’s the third straight 100-yard game for Nabers, who is now fully ramped up from his torn ACL last year. The Giants may be debating between Jameis Winston and J.J. McCarthy as the starting quarterback for next week. Regardless of the starter, Nabers sees enough volume to be a borderline WR1 for Week 7 against the Texans.

McCarthy’s first play of the game was a read-option where he kept the ball and rushed for a loss of two yards in the red zone. With the Giants down 24 points in the fourth quarter, McCarthy replaced a struggling Jameis Winston and started throwing several deep targets downfield. He threw an interception his first drive but led multiple successful drives late in the fourth quarter. Charlie Jones corralled a 49-yard pass away from a defender, making a near-interception into a long completion for McCarthy. Martin Emerson dropped an interception later in the drive before McCarthy connected with Isaiah Likely for a touchdown. He wound up leading the Giants in passing and rushing through just one quarter of play. Averaging 11.6 yards per attempt, McCarthy was one play away from leading a comeback against the Saints. Instead, we will wait to see if John Harbaugh will name the 23-year-old the starter for Week 7 against the Texans; he would be a fantasy QB2 if he starts.