‘They can trust me’: As J.J. McCarthy exploded in fourth quarter of yo-yo Giants-Saints game, John Harbaugh now has decision to make

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — When J.J. McCarthy was thrust onto the field Sunday, he had never thrown a live pass to New York Giants teammate Malik Nabers.

He had never thrown more than a sideline or warmup ball to tight end Isaiah Likely.

Three weeks ago, McCarthy had never even heard a Giants play-call.

So when he took his first snap under center with 11:25 to play in the fourth quarter, the Giants trailing by 24 thanks in large part to three turnovers, McCarthy seemed more likely to continue the hole-digging than reverse trend.

An interception on his fourth pass furthered that theory.

Then he rebounded to the tune of 269 yards from scrimmage and three scoring drives — all in the fourth quarter.

“I thought he came in there and did a heck of a job given the circumstances, you know, and kind of desperation time,” head coach John Harbaugh said after the Giants’ 34-27 loss dropped them to 3-2-1. “It’s different than normal football, but [he] made some plays and got us back, gives us a chance to win the game and we’re throwing the ball in the end zone at the end so that was good. 

“You’ve got to compliment him on that.”

McCarthy’s play, in his first meaningful quarterback action since the Giants dealt a fifth-round draft pick for him on Sept. 28 (he has spotted for a trick play here and there), firmly thrust him into the conversation of Giants starting quarterback ahead of the Giants' visit next week to a gaining-momentum Houston Texans team.

Harbaugh declined to name a starter on Sunday after the game.

“I can’t answer it now,” Harbaugh said early in his postgame media conference. “It’s not even up for discussion or conversation right now. We’ve got to go back and go to work. I have no problem with Jameis whatsoever. I love the way he competes, I love the way he fights, all those kind of things. He was up and down today for sure, but those things will all be decided not 10 minutes after a game.”

Nine questions later, Harbaugh’s tone had shifted slightly. When would he start the process of deciding whether to change quarterbacks?

“Starts right now,” Harbaugh said.

After 34-10 deficit, McCarthy helped Giants rally back 

As the first half neared end, McCarthy’s day seemed likely to follow his last two Sundays: a keeper or trick play here and there, but otherwise no action.

Winston had beaten the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals right before and after the Giants acquired McCarthy as depth following Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee surgery. They’d tied the Washington Commanders last week thanks in part to botched clock management by Jayden Daniels and co.

As long as Winston wasn’t losing games for the Giants, at least some inside the building expected him to keep his job. Then the Saints hit a field goal with 1:23 to play in the half, Giants kick returner Charlie Jones fumbled the next play, and Saints quarterback Tyler Shough hit receiver Bryce Lance for a touchdown with five seconds to play. A 10-point lead was suddenly a tie at half. Within three minutes of the second half, Saints running back Alvin Kamara scored another touchdown. 

The Saints had scored 27 unanswered points by third quarter’s end, aided by a Winston-to-Nabers pass intercepted with 4:23 to play in the third.

Once Winston’s next two outings featured a three-and-out and a second interception, his day was done. Harbaugh had already sent a message to the fumbling running back Cam Skattebo, who received no carries vs. the Saints (Harbaugh insisted Skattebo getting zero carries after 12 to 20 in each previous game was “not by design” even as Skattebo acknowledged he was being punished.)

Why not send a message to the interception-throwing Winston, too?

“Just left a lot of plays out there that I could have executed better on,” said Winston, who completed 14-of-26 attempts for 152 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

After McCarthy’s first series ended in an interception, he rebounded to lead consecutive touchdown drives with completions of 27, 49 and 24 yards to Nabers, Jones and Likely.

Color analyst Drew Brees praised how McCarthy layered throws and gave his targets a chance, including an airborne Likely for the touchdown. Another field-goal drive and two defensive stops, and the Giants were driving again in the final minute, with the game on the line.

Likely ultimately didn’t catch McCarthy’s fourth-and-1 shot to the end zone. But the energy in the locker room seemed to shift with how McCarthy rallied them back.

“It just felt at home in terms of just playing quarterback, just being able to run the whole show and make protection calls and be able to throw the ball a little bit …” McCarthy said from the postgame locker room. “I hope I just showed them that I can do my job at a high enough level that they can trust me out there.”

With NFC East wide open, will Giants promote McCarthy over Winston?

Even without Harbaugh endorsing McCarthy as the starter going forward, a locker room fond of Winston personally had gained respect for McCarthy professionally.

“I think he just showed a spark,” fullback Patrick Ricard said from his locker. “And that’s no knock on Jameis. I feel like Jameis has been playing his heart out and doing everything he can to help us win. But I feel like when J.J. came in, he just had a let-it-rip mentality of ‘I’m just going to throw this thing, throw it up and try to make the guys make plays,’ and they all did. 

“I think that was the biggest thing is just giving guys chances and opportunities to make the plays and he made some plays with his feet, which is really encouraging and was happy for him.”

Harbaugh, too, was willing to praise McCarthy’s mobility even as he eschewed several other questions after the loss. 

McCarthy used his mobility to elude the sack and climb up the pocket on his 46-yard completion to Nabers. He tucked and ran 28 yards upfield in the final minute to keep the game alive. And he used it to roll out of the pocket on his final dart, though he said afterward he wished he extended that play still longer.

“It’s a big asset for him, absolutely,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a very mobile quarterback. Absolutely that’s a plus for him. Sure. Big part of his skill set.”

Will Harbaugh choose to prioritize that skill set over Winston’s experience in the coming weeks? The Giants’ interest in McCarthy stemmed, in part, from his similarities in skill set (if not same track record yet) to Dart, whom the Giants designed their offense around.

Ricard, who played nine seasons for Harbaugh in Baltimore before joining him for a 10th in New York, said merit would lead the decision.

“Ever since I’ve known Harbs, he's always been [for fielding] the best guy to play,” Ricard said. “Year 10 with him now, it's still true. If you play well, you'll keep playing. If you don't play well, then he's going to find somebody that will play well and give them those opportunities. 

“I think that's just whenever you play, you just have to seize opportunities and just do the best you can with it.”

The Giants could opt to give Winston next week’s start against the Texans, knowing their bye week and a longer run-up to prepare McCarthy follows afterward.

The Giants remain atop a struggling NFC East, the injury-riddled Philadelphia Eagles falling to 2-4 Sunday while the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders each can’t catch the Giants this week alone.

Winston has completed 90-of-158 attempts (57%) for 957 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions while leading the Giants to 2-1-1. McCarthy completed 11-of-21 (52.4%) for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception, his 90.0 passer rating more efficient than Winston’s 76.4.

What would McCarthy look like after a week of game-planning around his skill set and giving him practice reps with the starters?

He declined to publicly advocate for himself.

“The only thing I'm focused on is getting better each and every day,” McCarthy said. “At the end of the day, Coach Harbaugh has to make a lot of decisions and those are his decisions. And I trust him wholeheartedly with anything he makes, any decision he makes. 

“And at the end of the day, I'm just focused on getting better from this.”