After going through his playbook crash course and getting a chance to show off his progress in a crazy fourth quarter rally against the Saints last Sunday, the New York Giants are turning the offense towards quarterback J.J. McCarthy as they brace to visit the Houston Texans in Week 7.
The Giants squeezed just about every drop of the orange they could out of Jameis Winston, who started the year as the backup to incumbent starter Jaxson Dart before earning his dream opportunity to assume the No. 1 job in Week 2, when Dart went down with a season-ending knee injury.
In his four starts, the 32-year-old Winston used his experience and unwavering faith to lead the Giants to a 2-1-1 record and a rare first-place lead in the NFC East. He amassed 957 passing yards and seven touchdowns, but hurt the team's success with two interceptions in a 34-27 loss to the Saints that brought his total up to five miscues.
While deserving of kudos for stepping into a tough spot and an offense not originally designed for his skill set, it was time for John Harbaugh's Giants to see what they could do with the newly prepared McCarthy as they hope to continue their push towards capturing their first division title since 2011.
Big Blue's receiving corps is especially excited for the talents McCarthy will bring to the passing game with his arm and ability to quickly find his targets in stride.
"Very good arm talent, throws a great ball," wide receiver Malik Nabers said about his new starting quarterback after practice on Thursday.
"He finds open guys, gives guys a shot, gives guys a chance to go make plays, and that's what we’re going to rally around."
J.J. McCarthy Will Make the Giants' Offense Dangerous Again
For one reason or another, the Giants offense was just a sinking ship against the Saints with Winston under center for the first three quarters.
Typical of his style of play throughout his NFL career, there were times when the veteran made some solid throws and looked in control as he opened up a 10-0 lead for New York in the first quarter.
Other times, he was holding onto the ball for too long and missing short connections with his pass catchers. He also had to play behind a less than perfect offensive line and eventually the pressure from the Saints' defensive front got to him, forcing him to rocket the football straight into the arms of a New Orleans defender.
With the game seemingly out of reach, Harbaugh made the switch to McCarthy for the final 11 minutes of the fourth frame, and it was like a light switch had magically turned the Giants offense back into hyperdrive.
The former No. 10 pick's tryout started off rocky with an interception, but he shook off the miscue and responded by threading the football right through a lax Saints defense and connecting with his new receivers for 243 yards, one touchdown and a 90.0 passer rating that helped the Giants slash their deficit to seven points in just over 5 minutes of gametime.
All of that from a guy who had yet to throw a single pass in a game for the franchise, who might have needed only a little extra time to pull off the wild comeback.
"I think as a quarterback you know how to do those things on your own," Nabers said about McCarthy's natural command of the huddle. So, I won't speak for him on just how he does it, but I think he did a hell of a job of coming into the fourth quarter and giving us an opportunity to win that game.
"Just not being out there not too long with us, especially with the first group, not getting that many snaps, but coming in and doing a good job of just saying let me just find my guys. I watched practice and I watched games and he knows who his guys (are) and he was just giving opportunities to go make plays. I think he did a hell of a job of that."
A Taller Task Awaits McCarthy and the Giants in Houston
While McCarthy and the Giants are ready to see where the Minnesota Vikings castaway can take them, there is a little bit of pause in overinflating the moment ahead of a tougher matchup against the Houston Texans.
The Giants were able to take advantage of a Saints defense that seemed to have packed things up with a massive 34-10 lead on their side of the scoreboard, but wasn't all that impressive coming into the contest, especially on the back end where they ranked in the bottom third of the league in opponent passing production.
It'll be a much different story with the Texans defense that is spearheaded by possibly the game's best pass rush duo in defensive ends Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter who will both look to feast on a banged up offensive line and wreck McCarthy's Giants debut.
That overwhelming factor could force the Giants offense to have play fast and get the ball out quicker than they'd like for a methodical Matt Nagy scheme. In order to help the cause, the job is simple for the receiving corps who have been begging for a quarterback who can chuck it around the yard to them.
"Get open, just get open," Nabers added on developing chemistry with McCarthy.
"They're going to find you, and they know who their guys are. When you talk to them, just give motivation to them. Tell them, I know you're just coming in; you don't know me really. You don't know a lot of us, but just know on certain plays, just give me an opportunity.
"Even when I'm not covered, just give me an opportunity. Some plays it might look like the plays not to be made and we're going to make those plays, so just trust us and we're going to get open for you.
"Just expect that me and Zay (tight end Isaiah Likely), (wide receiver) Malachi (Fields), Moon (wide receiver Darnell Mooney), we're going to get open and we're going to give a good target for the QB.
"I think just being QB friendly, seeing what they see, understanding the defense and how (you can) get open and just being on time with the quarterback, that's the best thing that you can do as a receiver – and catch the ball."
The hope is that with a stronger aerial attack, the Giants will eventually demand more of the Texans' respect in the middle of the field, leading to opening up more of the ground game that has struggled to find consistency in recent weeks yet is still vital to the the offense's sucess.
Having better options to attack an opposing defense was the main reason why Harbaugh and the Giants passed the baton over to McCarthy. He will certainly create the extra chances, but it will up to his teammates to hande their end of the bargain in order to win more football games.
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