Giants Bench Winston and Spend a Division Lead on McCarthy

The New York Giants named J.J. McCarthy their starting quarterback on Wednesday, 23 days after they traded for him. Jameis Winston, who went 2-1-1 in four starts after Jaxson Dart’s season ended, is the backup again.

John Harbaugh made the call after practice for Sunday’s game at Houston. The Giants sit 3-2-1 and first in the NFC East, and they are about to start a third quarterback in seven games.

What 11 Minutes Bought J.J. McCarthy

Winston left Sunday’s home game against New Orleans after two interceptions, with the Giants down 34-10 early in the fourth quarter. McCarthy, the 23-year-old former Michigan starter, had taken almost no snaps as a Giant until that point. He then produced the sample Harbaugh is now betting the next week on.

THE RELIEF SHIFT VS. NEW ORLEANS

• The throw total: McCarthy completed 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
• The scoreboard: He entered at 34-10 with just over 11 minutes left and the Giants lost 34-27.
• The ground game: He also ran twice for 26 yards and led New York in rushing.
• The franchise mark: Those 243 yards matched Eli Manning’s Giants record for a fourth quarter, set against Tampa Bay in 2012.

The first series ended in a pick. The next three produced 17 unanswered points, including a touchdown, a two-point throw, and a last drive that died on fourth down at the Saints’ 14-yard line. That is a messy, loud 11 minutes, and it is now the basis for a starting job on a first-place team.

Winston Went 2-1-1 in Four Starts

Winston, 32, signed a two-year contract with the Giants in September and took over when Dart went down. He also finished the Week 2 loss at the Rams in relief, which is why his season line is larger than the four-start record Harbaugh just discarded. Winston’s full 2026 passing game log shows both layers.

WINSTON’S FOUR STARTS

Those four games add up to 79-of-131 for 846 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Include the Rams relief appearance and the season total is 90-of-158 for 957 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions, a 57.0 percent clip and a 76.4 rating. The Washington start was a 54-attempt grind. The Saints start was four sacks and a 52.1 rating, and that is the tape the job was judged on.

Winston has spent most of the past seven seasons as a backup, after going first overall to Tampa Bay in 2015. He did not fight the demotion.

Every single week, you’re defined off of the last time you stepped foot on the field. So I believe based off last game, my job is to lead the New York Football Giants to a win, and that didn’t happen. That being said, I understand where I am now.

Jameis Winston, Giants quarterback, Wednesday

A Fifth-Round Ticket Out of Minnesota

Minnesota a 2027 fifth-round pick is what the Vikings took back on Sept. 28, pending a physical, after Dart’s injury. McCarthy was the No. 10 pick in 2024 out of Michigan, where he played for Jim Harbaugh, now the Chargers’ head coach and John’s brother. He missed his rookie year on injured reserve with a knee injury from the first preseason game.

In 2025 he started 10 games and went 6-4, completing 140-of-243 for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 72.6 rating. Minnesota signed Kyler Murray, named him the starter on Aug. 11, and kept Carson Wentz. McCarthy slipped to third on the depth chart. Giants general manager Joe Schoen bought the remainder of a cheap contract: $1.08 million in 2026 salary, then a $1.19 million base and a $6.95 million cap charge in 2027.

That is not a win-now veteran rental. It is a 23-year-old still on his rookie deal, cheap enough to keep through next season, sitting behind a 32-year-old on a new two-year contract and a 2025 first-rounder whose deal runs through 2028. The trade was sold as depth. Twenty-three days later it is the starting job.

Harbaugh Says This Is the Direction

Harbaugh praised Winston and still took the job from him. He has been in New York since January on a five-year contract, reporting to co-owner John Mara and working with Schoen. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy built much of the offseason plan around Dart’s legs. Winston could not run that part of the book. McCarthy is not Dart, but he can get Nagy back into designed movement.

I thought Jameis has done a tremendous job, won us games, played well. As we go forward here, this is going to be our direction. We think it gives us some good options on offense.

John Harbaugh, Giants head coach, Wednesday

Harbaugh said McCarthy already had the game plan down last week and that this week’s call sheet is “tailored a little more toward his direction.” He would not lock the job through the season. “Life is day-to-day, minute-to-minute. There’s really no guarantees,” he said. “I would never say that anything is permanent in football or life. That’s the plan going forward.”

Former Giants quarterback Russell Wilson argued they should give Winston one more look before making the jump. The counter is the Saints tape: Winston was sacked four times and threw two picks, and McCarthy immediately created chunk plays Winston had not. Harbaugh is not waiting for another Winston start to find out which version is the offense he wants.

Dart’s Season Ended on the First Drive

Dart, the 25th pick in 2025 out of Ole Miss, opened the year with 26-of-34 passing for 250 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The second start, at the Rams on Sept. 21, lasted one drive. He was hit as he threw, his left knee buckled, and he walked off. An MRI showed a torn meniscus and MCL. He had surgery on Sept. 25. Recovery is listed at four to six months, which closes the regular season. Harbaugh has called a playoff return ambitious.

McCarthy said he spoke with Dart on Wednesday. “I talked to him today. Just normal conversation. We’re both rooting for each other,” McCarthy said. “It’s been all great conversations. I love Jaxson.” That courtesy does not change the roster math. If McCarthy plays well into December, the Giants will enter 2027 with two young quarterbacks on overlapping contracts and a veteran who has already shown he will take the clipboard.

Winston described his own job in those terms. He said he is grateful he still gets to play, and that accepting a role is “one of the things you have to adjust to in this league.” He also credited McCarthy for taking “the position by the horns” after the Minnesota move.

The NFC East Still Runs Through East Rutherford

The standings are why the switch is not a quiet development story. Philadelphia and Dallas are both 2-4. Washington is 1-4-1. New York is the only team in the division over.500. The offense ranks 18th in points (22.7 per game) and 17th in passing yards (241.7). The defense is 19th in points allowed (23.3). This is a club that can still win the East with ordinary football, and it just changed quarterbacks anyway.

NFC EAST AFTER WEEK 6

Malik Nabers has already caught passes from Dart, Winston and McCarthy this season. The position has been a turnstile for longer than one injury, and the receiver is on his third starter before November. Harbaugh has lived a version of this before. Last season in Baltimore he had started a third quarterback by Week 7, with Lamar Jackson, Cooper Rush and Tyler Huntley, a point Hall of Fame voter Gary Myers raised after Wednesday’s announcement. The difference in New York is the division board. The Giants still sit first, and they are using that seat to see what McCarthy is.

Houston First, Then a Week to Reset

McCarthy’s first start is Sunday at Houston, 1 p.m. ET. The Texans are 2-4. New York’s bye is Week 8, so a rough afternoon does not have to become a four-game hole. After the off week come Philadelphia on the road and Washington at home. That stretch, not the Saints garbage time, is the actual test of whether Nagy’s call sheet travels with a new arm.

HOW THE GIANTS GOT TO A THIRD STARTER

1. Sept. 21: Dart tears the meniscus and MCL in his left knee on the opening drive at the Rams.
2. Sept. 25: Dart has surgery and is done for the regular season.
3. Sept. 28: New York trades a 2027 fifth-round pick to Minnesota for McCarthy.
4. Sept. 27 to Oct. 18: Winston starts four games and the Giants go 2-1-1.
5. Oct. 18: McCarthy relieves him trailing 34-10 and throws for 243 yards in a 34-27 loss.
6. Oct. 21: Harbaugh names McCarthy the starter for Houston.
7. Oct. 25: McCarthy makes his first Giants start, with a bye the following week.

Winston said he is taking it one day at a time. McCarthy said he is not pleased when he loses. Harbaugh said nothing in football is permanent. Sunday still belongs to the quarterback Minnesota moved for a fifth-round pick, while the injured first-rounder remains on injured reserve and the veteran who just went 2-1-1 holds the clipboard.