EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are turning to J.J. McCarthy to start at quarterback for their game Sunday at Houston.
McCarthy got the nod over Jameis Winston, who started the previous four games since Jaxson Dart was sidelined for the foreseeable future because of a knee injury.
“It’s all things considered what gives us the best chance to be our best, give us the best chance to play the best offense we can,” Harbaugh said Wednesday upon making the announcement after practice. “I thought Jameis has done a tremendous job: Won us games, played well, but as we go forward here, this is going to be our direction. We think it gives us some good options on offense.”
The Giants (3-2-1) are in the middle of the pack on offense leaguewide as they start a third player in seven games at football’s most important position. They have their bye week after playing the Texans but are making the change to McCarthy now that he has fully grasped offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s system.
“He’s got the game plan down,” Harbaugh said. “He can throw it. He’s picked up the offense really quickly. He’s an athletic guy, obviously, and he’s going to play some good football.”
Harbaugh said there was no debate over Winston starting against the Saints last weekend. Winston threw two interceptions before getting replaced by McCarthy early in the fourth quarter with the Giants trailing 34-10.
“Last game, it wasn’t what it was capable of being,” said Winston, who has completed 57% of his passes for 957 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions this season. “Every single week as a football team, you’re defined off of the last time you stepped foot on the field, so I believe that, based off last game and my job is to lead the New York Football Giants to a win, that didn’t happen.”
Facing little resistance from the Saints given the score, McCarthy was 11 of 21 for 243 yards and led multiple scoring drives, getting to within seven before an incomplete pass on fourth down in the final minute.
“It was really fun to just be out there with this group and be able to execute the plays and Coach Nags trusting me to run his offense and just super thrilled to be back out there playing again,” McCarthy said. “There was some good things. There was some bad things.”
McCarthy, 23, who was born in Evanston, raised in La Grange Park and played his first three high school seasons at Nazareth, is more mobile than Winston but has been around only just over three weeks since being acquired from the Minnesota Vikings for a fifth-round draft pick in a late-September trade. Sunday’s game is set to be the 23-year-old’s 11th NFL start after he made 10 for the Vikings last season, and he feels more prepared this time around.
“I believe just experience does wonders: being able to be in that same situation where you might have made a mistake the last time,” McCarthy said. “This time, you’re just going to react better and make a more well-rounded-response decision in that situation.”
His Giants starting debut is taking place in the same stadium in Houston where McCarthy won the national title with Michigan on Jan. 8, 2024. His coach at the time was Jim Harbaugh, John’s younger brother.
McCarthy, the 10th pick in the 2024 draft, had 11 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions with the Vikings. He lost the starting job there in training camp to free-agent addition Kyler Murray.
Sitting in first place in the NFC East, the Giants are banking on McCarthy making good on his growing confidence. He ran his first practice with the starters on Wednesday, and teammates are getting used to having someone new at the helm.
“He has to know how fast this guy is, how slow this guy is and how he likes to run his routes,” receiver Darnell Mooney said. “There’s some things we’ve still got to work on. If it works out well, it works out well. If it doesn’t, we still have to continue to build that chemistry.”
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The New York Giants are turning to J.J. McCarthy to start at quarterback against the Texans on Sunday in Houston.
Coach John Harbaugh and the team chose McCarthy over Jameis Winston, according to an ESPN report Wednesday
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. Harbaugh and players are expected to address the situation after practice this afternoon.Winston started the previous four games since Jaxson Dart was injured. McCarthy replaced Winston early in the fourth quarter down 24 against New Orleans and threw for 243 yards while leading multiple scoring drives.
McCarthy, 23, who was born in Evanston, raised in La Grange Park and played his first three high school seasons at Nazareth, is more mobile than Winston but less familiar with the offense. McCarthy has been around less than a month since joining in a trade from the Minnesota Vikings in late September.
The Giants (3-2-1) are alone in first place in the NFC East and have their bye week after playing the Texans.
McCarthy, the 10th pick in the 2024 draft, started 10 games for the Vikings last season. He missed what would have been his rookie year in the NFL after injuring his right knee.
Winston, 32, has completed 57% of his passes for 957 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions this season, his 12th in the NFL. That includes two picks in the loss to the Saints.