Giants players make feelings on Winston, McCarthy chatter clear

Chatter on social media about when first-year New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh could make a switch from current starting quarterback Jameis Winston to recently acquired backup J.J. McCarthy grew noticeably louder after the Arizona Cardinals took a 14-3 lead over the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

However, Winston ultimately helped the Giants rally back to earn a 36-24 win that improved New York to 3-1 and dropped Arizona to 1-3 on the season. Following that victory, Giants right guard Francis Mauigoa spoke with Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media about what Winston is offering the club that lost QB1 Jaxson Dart for at least the rest of the regular season due to a knee injury he suffered on Sept. 21.

Jameis Winston hailed as a leader for the Giants

“He’s a leader at heart, and he takes care of business, just like how you saw [Sunday],” Mauigoa said about Winston. 

The veteran signal-caller gave the Giants what has often been referred to as the full “Jameis Winston experience” against the Cardinals. While he tossed two interceptions on Sunday afternoon, he also completed 18-of-29 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns to notch a second straight win as New York’s fill-in starter. 

“Resilient, man,” Giants running back Cam Skattebo said about how Winston did well to bounce back from mistakes against Arizona. “Obviously, he threw a couple picks, but he led us. He operated fast, well, smart — the things that he did to be able to control the game. At the end of the day, he did what we needed him to do. He got out of things that most quarterbacks wouldn’t get out of. And he won the game.”

Giants players want “to stick with Jameis Winston”

The Giants seemingly want to give McCarthy plenty of time to get comfortable with the playbook and his new teammates before the club either puts him in a game or hands him a start. It sounds like Giants running back Najee Harris is just fine with that plan as long as Winston produces multiple touchdowns per contest. 

“I think it shows you what type of team we are — and what we’re capable of,” Harris told Slater about the Giants’ win over the Cardinals. “Jameis is just a resilient player. And he showed it. He’s our leader. Jameis is our quarterback. We’re going to stick with Jameis no matter what.”

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Giants as three-point underdogs for their Week 5 matchup at the 1-3 Washington Commanders on Oct. 11. One can’t help but wonder whether Skattebo and other Giants players will feel disrespected by that line.