Social media chatter about when first-year New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh might move on from current starting quarterback Jameis Winston with recently acquired backup JJ McCarthy stepping up dramatically 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 in season. Following that victory, Giants right guard Francis Mauigoa was spoken to Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media on what Winston offers the club that lost QB1 Jaxson Dart even for the rest of the regular season due to the knee injury he sustained on September 21.
Jameis Winston has been praised as a leader for the Giants
“He is a leader at heart, and he handles the business, as you have seen [Sunday],” Mauigoa said of Winston.
The veteran signal-caller gave the Giants what is often referred to as the entire “Jameis Winston experience” against the Cardinals. While he threw two interceptions Sunday afternoon, he also completed 18-of-29 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns to earn New York’s second straight win as a fill-in starter.
“Resilient, man,” Giants running back Cam Skattebo said of how well Winston recovered 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”
It seems the Giants want to give McCarthy plenty of time to get comfortable with the playbook and his new teammates before the club puts him in a game or gives him a start. It looks like Giants running back Najee Harris is fine with that plan as long as Winston throws multiple touchdowns per contest.
“I think it shows you what kind of team we are — and what we’re capable of,” Harris said 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 has the Giants as three-point underdogs for their Week 5 matchup with the 1-3 Washington Commanders on Oct. 11. One can’t help but wonder how Skattebo and other Giants players will feel disrespected through that line.