Evan Barnes: Jameis Winston showed he deserves to be Giants' starting QB, so leave J.J. McCarthy on the sideline
The Washington Commanders' Joshua Josephs tackles Giants quarterback Jameis Winston during the second half of an NFL game in Landover, Md., on Sunday. Credit: AP/Stephanie Scarbrough
Nobody likes a tie in sports. Maybe on a nice shirt, but the Giants didn’t wear their best outfit on Sunday.
Their offense had a sloppy first half. Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada missed three field-goal attempts, his first misses as a pro. Cam Skattebo’s latest fumble cost the Giants in overtime.
But a 27-27 tie suited the Giants better than expected at Northwest Stadium — especially after Jayden Daniels and the Commanders inexplicably flubbed the game by running a play with 12 seconds left in overtime and no timeouts. Daniels was sacked at the Giants’ 24 and Washington couldn’t spike the ball before time ran out.
“I’m really just grateful that it was a tie,” Jameis Winston said. “That’s the first tie that I’ve been a part of.”
The Giants hadn’t done it in nearly four years — Dec. 4, 2022 at MetLife Stadium, also against the Commanders.
Tie or no tie, this game proved one thing: Winston didn’t just survive another week at quarterback. He should keep the starting job for a while even after J.J. McCarthy made his debut.
Winston finished 33-for-54 for 326 yards, going 26-for-38 for 254 yards and three touchdowns after halftime. He also had his first game this season without an interception. He’s steadily improved in each of his three starts and rallied the Giants from a 14-point deficit with consecutive scoring drives. His 17-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabers with 1:43 left helped tie it at 27.
But a fumble at the Washington 24 by Skattebo, his fourth of the season and first recovered by the opposing team, ended the Giants’ final overtime drive. The Commanders (1-3-1) took over, but their poor clock management kept the Giants (3-1-1) unbeaten for a third straight week and still alone in first place.
Sure, the Giants had plenty of blame to go around for not getting the win. Zvada missed a 46-yard field goal on the Giants’ first overtime possession. Skattebo’s fumble prevented Zvada from atoning for his third missed kick of the day.
The offense had only 77 yards in the first half and the Giants’ running game was ineffective, but it didn’t matter because Winston ended the second half with three consecutive scoring drives.
“I thought he was amazing in the second half,” John Harbaugh said. “I thought his ability to come out and change like that. And I felt we changed our offense up, we tried some different things, and he really settled into the things we did offensively. And he was amazing. First half, he wasn’t. He’d be the first to tell you that, but that’s on everybody.”
It almost made you forget that McCarthy played five nonconsecutive snaps, including four in the second half. The one good play didn’t count as McCarthy found Nabers on a 14-yard catch-and-run that was erased by an illegal-shift penalty.
The cameos were unnecessary. If McCarthy is ready, he should play only if Winston has multiple bad games. Until then? Winston should keep leading this offense.
Nabers wanted the ball more and the Giants obliged, targeting him 20 times. He finished with 11 catches for 121 yards. Isaiah Likely had a career-high 11 catches and finished with 94 yards and two touchdowns.
It was needed because Daniels’ return to the Commanders nearly broke the Giants. He missed the previous two games with a left elbow injury, but his legs were fine. He escaped for a 26-yard touchdown run with 11:05 remaining in regulation that pushed the Commanders’ lead to 27-13 after contributing a 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Daniels threw for 199 yards and ran for 103 more.
Winston, however, was undeterred after Daniels’ last score, leading a 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Likely.
It was mature execution by a veteran quarterback. Winston fumbled on a strip sack in the second quarter but didn’t make another major mistake.
Now about this running game. Rain means run the ball more, and the Giants couldn’t do it well until overtime. They finished with 103 rushing yards but had only 55 in regulation on 2.4 yards per carry. The longest gain was seven yards until Skattebo escaped for a 19-yard run in overtime.
It’s a problem the Giants have skirted around, but it’s getting more noticeable as the passing game is improving.
Same with the run defense not limiting big plays. Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran untouched for a 33-yard touchdown on his first carry for the Commanders and added a 22-yard gain on the final play of the third quarter.
The Giants entered the game having allowed only two runs longer than 20 yards and none longer than 22. So much for that. The Commanders finished with 202 rushing yards. It’s a troubling sign that the Giants’ run defense has been poor in two road games.
The Giants do have other worries from the game. Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf) and safety Tyler Nubin (neck) left the game in the second half, as did rookie cornerback Colton Hood (concussion).
That said, the pass rush got better. The Giants had a season-high five sacks, including two by Dru Phillips, and Arvell Reese recorded the first of his career. Abdul Carter picked up his second sack and did a Spider-Man celebration to honor injured teammate Brian Burns.
So give the Giants credit for staying resilient. The tie may have been unsatisfying, but it made one thing clear: Winston should remain at quarterback.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
