The New York Giants have changed quarterbacks. John Harbaugh opened his news conference after Wednesday’s practice by announcing that J.J. McCarthy will start Sunday’s game at the Houston Texans. “We’ll make an announcement about the quarterback situation. We will be starting J.J. in the game,” the head coach said. Jameis Winston, who had started since Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee injury in Week 2, will be the backup.
Three days earlier Harbaugh had declined to make the call after McCarthy came off the bench in the 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints and nearly erased a 24-point deficit. On Wednesday he said the decision is about the offense going forward. “All things considered, what gives us the best chance to play the best offense we can,” he said. “I thought Jameis has done a tremendous job. Won us games, played well, but as we go forward here, this is going to be our direction, and we think it gives us some good options on offense.”
The Giants are 3-2-1 and play in Houston on Sunday, October 25, at 1 p.m. ET (20:00 Cairo), their last game before the bye.
“There’s really no guarantees”
Asked whether the change is for more than one week, Harbaugh said: “Life is day to day, minute to minute, so there’s really no guarantees. I would never say that anything is permanent really in football or life, but that’s the plan going forward.” Asked why McCarthy gives the team the best chance, he said it was not a comparison between the two. “Both guys are great quarterbacks,” he said. “J.J.’s got some skill set that we can take advantage of, and we’re excited to see what we can do with it. He can throw it, he’s picked up the offense really quickly, he’s an athletic guy obviously.”
He said the offense will stay the same but lean more toward McCarthy. “There are types of plays probably that will be more in J.J.’s world that weren’t quite as much in Jameis’ world, and plays that were in Jameis’ world that wouldn’t be in J.J.’s world quite as much, but the concepts are still there, the schemes are the same,” Harbaugh said. He said McCarthy had the game plan down “pretty fully” last week and “even more so this week,” and that it “has been tailored a little more toward his direction.”
Harbaugh told both quarterbacks one-on-one on Tuesday. “Jameis was great. This guy is one of the finest human beings, best teammates, best leaders you could ever be around, and he wants what’s best for the team,” he said. “Of course he wants to play, he wants to be out there competing, he wants to have the ball in his hands, but he also wants for J.J. to do well.” He said there was no team announcement: “They kind of figured it out when they saw the game plan.”
On why he put McCarthy in against New Orleans with 11 minutes left, Harbaugh said “it was twofold.” “I thought maybe a spark would give us a chance to win the game. He could run around and maybe make some plays, which he did,” he said. “And then also, yeah, to get a look at him. That was probably the other part of it, honestly.” He also credited general manager Joe Schoen and the scouts for targeting McCarthy in the trade. “That was their number one guy,” he said.
Harbaugh said the team is not worried about who is under center. “We can win the division, we can win more than the division,” he said. “They’re not thinking about who’s the quarterback. All right, let’s go play.” The Giants also signed offensive lineman Josh Sills off the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.
McCarthy: “Extremely comfortable”
McCarthy, who arrived in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings on September 28, opened his own session by saying he was “honored to be a quarterback for the New York Football Giants.” Asked if the news surprised him, he said: “I don’t think surprise is the word. It’s really just, I’m focused on that next thing.” Asked where his comfort level is in the playbook, he said: “Extremely comfortable. Great teachers in this building. Jameis has helped me out from the get-go since I got here.”
Asked whether he is more ready for this job than for his first starting job in Minnesota, he said: “Yes sir. I believe just experience does wonders. Being able to be in that same situation where you might’ve made a mistake the last time, this time you’re just going to react better.” He said he has been more open with the coaches about what he likes. “It can’t just be a, oh, I love everything, coach, because you’re trying to please them,” he said. “I’ve been very vocal the last couple of days.”
The start comes in Houston, where McCarthy won the national championship with Michigan. “Special, it’s awesome,” he said. “I think we’re staying in the same hotel that we stayed in when we were there in 2024.” He said he spoke with Dart on Wednesday. “We’re both just rooting for each other,” McCarthy said, adding that the two have worked with the same quarterback coach in California for a long time and that Dart is coming back into meetings this week “to be that sounding board for me.”
Of the fourth-quarter rally against the Saints, he said: “Just to get an opportunity to go out there and execute some football plays when it really matters meant the absolute world.” Asked to compare John Harbaugh with his brother Jim, who coached him at Michigan, McCarthy said: “Both are made of faith, family and football and nothing else.”
Winston: “Nothing really changed but the role itself”
Winston was asked if he felt he had played well enough to keep the job. “I believe that last game, it wasn’t what it was capable of being,” he said. “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.”
He said his approach has not changed. “Like I always say, what I want for myself, I want for everyone. So when I say that, I mean it,” Winston said. Asked how he will support McCarthy this week, he said: “By being my very best. That’s how you support a young man, by coming to work, being the same person every single day, by showing respect and gratitude for the opportunity that he’s presented with and the opportunity that I had.” He added: “Nothing really changed but the role itself.”
“There will never be a moment where a player should expect that he’s safe,” Winston said. “We can never be comfortable in this line of work. We should always remain hungry and determined to improve. And that’s where my hunger still lies.” Asked if his readiness changes as the backup, he said: “Oh, absolutely. Every day is going to continue to be focused on getting one percent better.”
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