Copr. Associated Press 2026
There’s a whole lot to unpackage here. The New York Giants were defeated by the New Orleans Saints 34-27 yesterday in a wild contest with massive momentum shifts throughout.
New York had a stellar start after an initial three-and-out, strolling in for a touchdown on their next possession as Jameis Winston found Tyrone Tracy for a 17-yard score to cap a 93 yard drive that lasted a little under seven minutes. The defense played exceptionally in the first half until right before the break, only allowing 95 yards of offense from New Orleans.
A massive turning point in the outing came right before halftime, as Giants kick return specialist Charlie Jones fumbled during a kickoff after the Saints accrued a field goal. New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough would find Bryce Lance for 6 in the back of the end zone five plays later.
Winston ‘responded’ with easily the worst half of football he’s had since week 2 against the Rams; throwing two interceptions as the Saints continued to reach the endzone with little resistance, racking up 34 unanswered points to establish a 24 point advantage. Winston was benched late in the Saints surge after throwing his second interception, setting up J.J. McCarthy to make his proper Giants debut in what appeared to be garbage time.
After throwing a mind-boggling interception on his first drive out, McCarthy played a nearly perfect fourth quarter. The third year signal caller led a furious comeback which started with a five-yard rushing score by Tyrone Tracy on a day where the Big Blue run offense was non-existent (and we’ll get to that) which was followed up by a successful two-point conversion to bring the score to 34-18. After forcing a three and out on the Saints’ next possession, McCarthy threw for 73 yards in a mere three plays as he found Isaiah Likely for another six points although the ensuing two point try was unsuccessful. After forcing another three and out and tacking on a field goal before the two minute warning, the Giants were able to stifle New Orleans yet again and regain possession down by seven with 57 seconds left on the clock. McCarthy was able to drive all the way down to the Saints’ 14 yard line to set up a game-deciding play on a fourth down. On fourth and one, the pass protection immediately collapsed for the former Viking which led to a still accurate but incomplete throw to Likely despite Nabers being wide open to his right as the Saints survived with a win.
The General Consensus
Copr. Frank Franklin II-The Associated Press 2026
The Giants community, including us, love to overreact to losses and dissect them thoroughly. It’s in our nature as a big market fanbase. If you want to start pointing fingers, we can all start with Winston. It almost feels wrong to be angry at someone who seems like a genuinely good person, but he played awful in the second half. The ‘Jameis Winston Experience’ was something we all knew had a time limit on it and it seems that time is indeed up. The Charlie Jones fumble was also a major catalyst in the momentum shift before halftime but Jones also made up for it with an insane 49-yard catch during the McCarthy comeback.
This one can also be attributed to the complete abandonment of the run game. The Giants only handed the ball to a running back 14 times throughout the entirety of a game. Cam Skattebo also had zero touches after his game-costing fumble in overtime last week against Washington. Most fans expected Harbaugh to downgrade Skattebo to RB2 but still give him a fair share of opportunities to make plays. He did not. McCarthy wound up being the team’s leading rusher with 26 yards mostly gained from a single scramble. The Giants have a major running back problem, and they might want to address it before the trade deadline if they hope to continue to contend for a postseason spot.
McCarthy looked excellent in relief of Winston. A few of those late drives he put together might’ve been attributed to the Saints playing conservative football with a massive lead, but McCarthy dissected them regardless. The young QB threw for 243 yards in just over 11 minutes of football. Let that sink in and imagine what the offense could look like if he plays that well on a consistent basis.
The Giants travel to Houston next week to battle a surging Texans team as McCarthy will receive an opportunity to play a full game against a better (on paper) defensive unit.
-Jack Barber
Works Cited
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