The Giants have a quarterback situation.
New York benched Week 6 starter Jameis Winston for J.J. McCarthy with more than 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints and scored 17 points but ultimately lost the 34-27 final at MetLife Stadium.
McCarthy, who debuted for the Giants in last Sunday's 27-27 tie at the Washington Commanders, has been approaching his job accordingly as New York looks to fill the void left by injured starter Jaxson Dart's season-jeopardizing knee surgery.
"I think just the over-preparation — just making sure that each and every week, even when I got here when we were playing Arizona, I went into the game with the mindset that I could play the whole game," said McCarthy, who was active Oct. 4 for the Giants' 36-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
"So, just being able to really put myself in that position Monday through Saturday is something that helped me out today."
McCarthy completed 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown against one interception while adding 26 rushing yards on two carries.
"I mean, thought he came in there and did a heck of a job, given the circumstances — kind of desperation time," said coach Jim Harbaugh. "I mean, it's different than normal football, but made some plays and got us back — gave us a chance to win at the end of the game, we're throwing the ball in the end zone at the end, so that was good. You got to compliment him on that."
After McCarthy threw an interception on the third pass of his first drives, he led three straight scores and nearly a fourth that could have tied or won the game.
"I think he did a great job of just giving his guys an opportunity to get down the field, giving it and just saying, 'My guy's better than them, let's go see if we can make some points,'" said wide receiver Malik Nabers, who caught a game-high 12 passes foe 165 yards and a long of 46 — from McCarthy.
"And coming in like that at the end of the game, just being at practice, not really being in the first-team reps and just going out there and doing a great job of delivering the football, I think we've got to give him credit for that."
McCarthy's 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Isaiah Likely at the 5:06 mark brought the Giants' deficit to 34-24.
"He came in and gave us a fighting chance to be able to win the game," said Likely, who caught six passes for 99 yards and McCarthy's touchdown. "I mean, he played good. Definitely showed what he's capable of, showed that he was ready for the moment."
While Harbaugh did not say what the Giants would do about the starter for next Sunday's 1 p.m. game at the Houston Texans, who improved to 2-4 with Sunday's 34-31 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, his decision-making process "starts right now," he said during his postgame news conference.
"Like I said, I can't answer it now," Harbaugh said. "It's not even up for discussion or conversation right now. We got to go back and go to work.
"I mean, I have no problem with Jameis whatsoever — love the way he competes, love the way he fights, all those kind of things. Plays — he was up and down today, for sure, but those things will all be decided not 10 minutes after the game."
Winston completed 14 of 26 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions while taking four sacks.
"That's him," Winston said of Harbaugh. "That's a decision that he'll have to make.
"What I would love is to just put myself in a better position to execute. And that just starts with me, things I can control — going out there every single play, doing my very best."
McCarthy, whose fourth-and-1 pass to Likely in the back of the end zone fell incomplete with six seconds left and kept the Giants (3-2-1) short against the Saints (2-4), was coy on the situation while getting back to work.
"I hope I just showed them that I could do my job at a high enough level that they can trust me out there," McCarthy said. "At the end of the day, we didn't win the game. So, we've got to do things better, and I've got to be better, and figure out ways that we can close this thing out next time."
"I mean, the only thing I'm focused on is getting better — each and every day," McCarthy added later on. "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 and any decision he makes and, at the end of the day, I'm just focused on getting better for this team."