Published October 18, 2026 05:00 PM
Giants head coach John Harbaugh turned to J.J. McCarthy in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Saints and was rewarded with a performance that almost brought the Giants their fourth win of the season, but he isn’t ready to talk about his plans for Week 7’s game against the Texans.
McCarthy threw for 243 yards while leading the Giants to 17 points that cut New Orleans’s lead to seven points in the final minutes. He brought them to the 14-yard-line on the final possession, but a fourth-down pass to tight end Isaiah Likely in the end zone fell incomplete to make the Giants 34-27 losers.
After the game, Harbaugh said in his press conference that McCarthy “gave us a chance to win the game” while also noting that coming into a desperate situation is “different from normal football.” Harbaugh said that he has “no problems” with starter Jameis Winston, although he acknowledged ups and downs that included a pair of second half interceptions that helped the Saints pile up 34 straight points after falling behind 10-0 in the first half.
Harbaugh said it had only been 10 minutes since the end of the game while declining to share his quarterback plans for the future.
“I can’t answer that right now. It’s not even up for discussion or conversation right now,” Harbaugh said.
McCarthy has only been with the Giants for a short time, but seeing if he can simulate what happened in the fourth quarter over an entire game has to be an appealing option for many given how much of a book there already is on Winston.