Consider this for a moment: The Giants are first in the NFC East with a 3-2-1 record. It’s more a product of poor play by the other teams in the division, the 2-4 Philadelphia Eagles, the 2-4 Dallas Cowboys, and the 1-4-1 Washington Commanders than it is the Giants operating at a high level.
The squad’s first year head coach, Jim Harbaugh, who was the Baltimore Ravens head coach from 2008 to 2026, is trying to establish a foundation upon which a championship team can be built. As with any construction project, there are always issues that have to be rectified.
For Harbaugh, stabilizing the quarterback position in the absence of Jaxson Dart, the Giants’ would-be franchise quarterback, is paramount. Dart is out for the season after tearing the meniscus in his left knee, as well as sustaining damage to his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior collateral ligament (PCL) on Sept. 21 against the Los Angeles Rams in the second game of the season.
Jamis Winston’s performances in Dart’s absence have been a microcosm of his 12-year pro career. The Giants’ QB2 has been simultaneously spectacular and frustrating. He lifted the now 3-2-1 Giants from a 14-point deficit against the Commanders for a 27-27 tie on Oct. 11 in Week 5, throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. But this past Sunday in a 34-27 home loss to the New Orleans Saints, the 32-year-old Winston was 14-26 for 152 yards, one touchdown and two costly interceptions before being pulled for J.J. McCarthy, who the Giants obtained from the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 28 for a 2027 5th round draft pick.
The Vikings finally gave up on the 10th overall selection in the 2024 draft as he sat out his entire rookie year with a torn meniscus in his right knee and in 10 games last season displayed poor decision making and a general lack of acumen in analyzing defenses.
But against the Saints, the 23-year-old former Michigan Wolverine had the best quarter of his early professional career, throwing for 243 yards and one touchdown (he also had an interception) and running for 26 in just the fourth quarter in nearly pulling the Giants out of a 24-point deep sinkhole as they trailed 34-10 with under 10 minutes left before closing the gap. A pass from McCarthy to Giants tight end Isaiah Likely in the Saints’ end zone on fourth down with 12 seconds to go was successfully defended by the Saints.
So what does Harbaugh do now?
“Well, probably I would say absolutely like every other personnel decision we make, what gives us the best chance to win the football game at this given time, or what combination of players and schemes and things like that give us the best chance to,” said Harbaugh on Monday. “In this case, move the ball, score points, protect the football, et cetera. So, all the things that help us win, whatever it is that furthers us and helps us, just to use the basic obvious point, that’s what we want to do.”
Will Winston be given more runway or will McCarthy be handed the controls? With a division ripe for the Giants to win, it is a decision in which Harbaugh must have foresight and conviction.
