EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants are turning to J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, coach John Harbaugh announced Wednesday.
Harbaugh had to choose between McCarthy and Jameis Winston, who had started the previous four games. Winston had been starting in place of injured starter Jaxson Dart.
"I would say, like every other personnel decision we make, [it's] what gives us the best chance to win the football game at this given time," Harbaugh said.
McCarthy is the Giants' starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, according to Harbaugh.
The move comes after McCarthy entered the game in the fourth quarter Sunday and threw for 243 yards and led three scoring drives. He provided a spark with his arm and his legs and came within 14 yards of potentially completing a miraculous comeback despite having trailed by 24 points. It was the second-most passing yards in a fourth quarter by a quarterback who didn't start over the past 25 years.
Harbaugh told his quarterbacks of the decision during 1-on-1 meetings on Tuesday. He didn't think it was necessary to make any grand announcement to the team Wednesday. They found out when dissecting the game plan.
"It was pretty evident to me, self-evident, that it was the right time," Harbaugh said of the quarterback change..
It was going to be a difficult matchup for McCarthy or Winston with Houston having one of the league's best pass rushes. The Texans are third in the league with 18 sacks through five games.
The Giants landed on McCarthy in large part because of his potential. He was the 10th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL draft out of the University of Michigan. New York traded a fifth-round pick for McCarthy three weeks ago.
McCarthy thinks he's better positioned now for success than he was in Minnesota.
"I believe just experience does wonders," he said.
Winston threw for 152 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Saints before being benched. He has seven touchdown passes and five interceptions this season.
The Giants went to McCarthy now despite having a bye after this week's game against Texans.
Winston, 32, signed a two-year, $13 million contract extension before the start of the season to be the team's backup. But he was thrust into action in the first quarter of a Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
He had seemingly settled the ship in recent weeks, and New York (3-2-1) is sitting in first place in a down NFC East. The Giants are hardly in panic mode despite losing 34-27 to the Saints on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in a sloppy performance.
Harbaugh said after the game that how the quarterbacks played would be the most important factor. It was hard to argue with McCarthy's performance, but Winston provides veteran experience and has flashed the past few weeks. He came into Sunday with consecutive games with two touchdown passes. But his struggles combined with McCarthy's success opened the door for Wednesday's change.
"I believe that last game, it wasn't what it was capable of being," Winston said. "I think every single week as a football team, you're defined off of the last time you stepped foot on the field. So, I believe that based off last game, my job is to lead the New York Football Giants to a win, and that didn't happen. So that being said, I understand where I'm at now."
The Giants' running game (or lack thereof) was a factor in the decision because there is a belief that McCarthy's presence in the lineup can help. New York has struggled badly to run the ball in recent weeks despite Harbaugh's desire for the Giants to be a running team. Their running backs had 14 carries for 34 yards Sunday. McCarthy led the team in rushing Sunday with 26 yards.
McCarthy allows New York to use more of the offense it designed for Dart leading into the season. Dart hurt a knee in Week 2, forcing the Giants to turn to Winston. They catered their offense to Winston's strengths as a result. That meant few zone reads and less of the quarterback on the move. It seems to have negatively affected New York's overall run game. McCarthy, with his increased mobility and ability to run, could provide a boost.
"The elements that we're talking about with some of the read plays and some of the different things you do moving the quarterback around, those are definitely things that are part of the equation," Harbaugh said.
"I feel like it just adds multiplicity to where you can attack the defense. It's always doing my job of holding the backside player and making sure that you give that split second to the running back to split that crease and make it a 15-yard gain instead of a six-yard gain," McCarthy said. "So, there's a lot of different factors that come with things, not just QB run specific, it adds a lot of elements to just the backside stuff, carrying out your keeper fakes on wide zone stuff.
"Yeah, I definitely feel like that's an element that attacks defenses very well."
The Giants practiced for the first time this week on Wednesday afternoon. McCarthy took extra reps with his receivers afterwards, including star wide receiver Malik Nabers.
It's needed. McCarthy said after the game Sunday those were his first notable reps with Nabers and most of the Giants starter since joining the team.
