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If J.J. McCarthy was guaranteed to throw for 943 yards, rush for 104 yards and lead 12 scoring drives in his next start, then the Giants wouldn’t have a quarterback controversy on their hands.
But, of course, it’s preposterous to conclude McCarthy’s fourth-quarter production against the Saints should be quadrupled to determine what he could do over the course of a full game.
So, head coach John Harbaugh continued to “hone in on” whether McCarthy or Jameis Winston (2-1-1 as the starter) will start Sunday against the Texans. Monday passed without a decision.
“Jameis has done a great job in so many ways … and did what he had to do to win games, and that’s something you value very much,” Harbaugh said. “J.J. just got here [via trade] a couple weeks ago, and where do we stand? We’re trying to put an offense together that he has a feel for.”
There are extenuating circumstances — a 24-point deficit, a no-huddle offense, soft defensive coverage, abandonment of the run game, an opponent that temporarily removed starters, to name a few — to consider when judging whether McCarthy’s performance suggests he should be the starter and the Giants should change their identity to become more up-tempo and pass-oriented.
The Giants snapped the ball every 14.6 seconds of possession with McCarthy in the fourth quarter.
“That kind of an offense has been tried — you see it in college sometimes with teams that run no-huddle all the time or the run-and-shoot was like that,” Harbaugh said. “It hasn’t really proven to be sustainable. It’s one-dimensional. It invites a lot of issues for your offense from a pass-rush standpoint if you don’t keep people honest. Just like running the ball every play — three yards and a cloud of dust — is not sustainable. It’s been proven over time that being more balanced [is better].”
Except that the Giants are struggling to create balance because their rushing attack ranks No. 22 with 3.8 yards per carry. Fumble-prone Cam Skattebo was punished by getting no touches against the Saints.
“Not having an efficient run game causes the defenses to stay too high,” receiver Malik Nabers said, “and they are able to double-team and try to take us out of the game.”
One week ago, the stagnant Winston-led offense came alive under similar hurry-up circumstances during a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback. Winston threw three touchdown passes.
“You can do it, but I don’t think that’s something you want to do,” running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. said. “You don’t want to rely on going up-tempo the whole time. That’s more of a change-up.”
That style is the opposite of the physical, ball-control identity that Harbaugh sought to build before quarterback Jaxson Dart’s season-ending injury.
“We just have to be honest with ourselves in the film room,” tight end Isaiah Likely said. “Understand and realize, being truthful, about what offense we want to be.”
McCarthy’s 4.9 air yards per attempt and 17.2 air yards per completion were the most by a quarterback with at least 20 dropbacks in a game this season, according to NextGenStats. He was worth 4.7 expected points added through the air.
McCarthy’s play style is well-suited for mounting comebacks. He led the NFL last season with 9.3 air yards per attempt and a 42.4 percent downfield throw rate.
It is yet to be determined — including through his 10 career starts with the Vikings — if he is suited for managing a four-quarter offense.
“We wanted to be a team that could play a very balanced type of attack … and a lot of different styles,” Harbaugh said. “When we lost Jaxson that made it tough for us to be what we wanted to be. That changed everything. We were trying to find ourselves for a few weeks there — we still have been, obviously.
“The thing that’s important to remember is we are most definitely a work in progress. It’s our responsibility to find ourselves and put together the type of football team that can go get what we want. It could be a little different range, but in that 60-40 [run-pass] range either way, what are we going to be doin’?”
Similar to McCarthy, Winston likes to make aggressive throws into tight windows. He just doesn’t add the same level of athleticism and rushing threat that the Giants have missed since Dart’s injury.
“If we go that way, [J.J.] opens up some things that we wouldn’t be doing with Jameis, for sure,” Harbaugh said. “Then there’s some things that Jameis does that hit his strengths.”
McCarthy was bailed out by some circus catches in coverage to get his completion percentage over expected to plus-8.5 percent.
“I wouldn’t describe it as backyard football,” Likely said. “Obviously, we have plays, but knowing that we had to push the ball down the field and be able to give your playmakers [a chance].”