{"id":871,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/871","headline":"Giants bench Winston, McCarthy rally falls short in loss to Saints","dek":"New Orleans scored 34 straight points before New York's quarterback change nearly sparked a comeback in a 34-27 defeat.","body":"The Giants dropped a 34-27 decision to the Saints at MetLife Stadium after watching New Orleans reel off 34 consecutive points. Jameis Winston threw two interceptions, and after the second one, coach John Harbaugh had seen enough, pulling him in favor of J.J. McCarthy with the Giants trailing 34-10 in the fourth quarter.\n\nMcCarthy, acquired in a trade from the Vikings, had only seen specialized plays before Sunday but got his first real shot running the offense with the game well out of hand. He delivered, leading New York to three scoring drives in the fourth quarter that turned a blowout into a nail-biter. It wasn't enough to complete the comeback, but it was enough to raise questions.\n\nThe Giants are now 3-1-1 on the season, a surprising mark considering they lost Jaxson Dart to a season-ending knee injury back in Week 2. With the surging Texans up next, Harbaugh now faces a real decision at quarterback heading into a tougher matchup, one that Sunday's fourth quarter only made harder to ignore.","published_at":"2026-10-19T00:03:39.222210+00:00","source_count":5,"written_from":[{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Giants’ J.J. McCarthy rally falls short in wild loss to Saints as Jameis Winston gets benched","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/18/sports/giants-j-j-mccarthy-rally-falls-short-in-loss-to-saints-after-jameis-winston-benching/"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"J.J. McCarthy-led comeback falls short as Giants face QB questions following loss to Saints","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7701950/2026/10/18/saints-giants-nfl-week-6-result-takeaways/"},{"outlet":"Fox Sports","publisher":"Fox Sports","title":"Giants Bench QB Jameis Winston; J.J. McCarthy Enters Game Against Saints","url":"https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/giants-bench-qb-jameis-winston-j-j-mccarthy-enters-game-against-saints"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Why Giants benched Jameis Winston for J.J. McCarthy in QB shakeup","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-giants-benched-jameis-winston-195850229.html"},{"outlet":"CBS Sports","publisher":"CBS Sports","title":"Jameis Winston benched: Giants make move to J.J. McCarthy during Saints blowout","url":"https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jameis-winston-benched-giants-j-j-mccarthy-makes-debut/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy replaces Jameis Winston in second New York Giants game","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-replaces-jameis-195318585.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy replaces Jameis Winston as the Giants' quarterback late against the Saints","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-replaces-jameis-195456520.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy throws first touchdown pass for Giants, nearly leads game-tying comeback","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/jj-mccarthy-throws-first-touchdown-pass-for-giants-nearly-leads-game-tying-comeback-202747705.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy nearly leads Giants back from 24-point deficit in wild showing","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-nearly-leads-203447472.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘He’s Just So Bad,’ ‘Old-Fashioned Bust’ — NFL Fans React to J.J. McCarthy Throwing Interception After Replacing Jameis Winston","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/just-bad-old-fashioned-bust-203517852.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Giants face tough QB decision after J.J. McCarthy’s huge 4th quarter","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/giants-face-tough-qb-decision-204335040.html"},{"outlet":"Fox Sports","publisher":"Fox Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy Provides Late Spark, But Giants' Rally Falls Short Against Saints","url":"https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/j-j-mccarthy-provides-late-spark-giants-rally-falls-short-against-saints"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"How J.J. McCarthy proved he should be new Giants starting QB with comeback effort","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-proved-giants-210334665.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Giants’ J.J. McCarthy made NFL history in losing effort vs. Saints","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/giants-j-j-mccarthy-made-212017440.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy Makes History After Replacing Jameis Winston","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-makes-history-211452882.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy isn’t fixed, but he’s the Giants’ best hope (yes, really)","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-isn-t-213038135.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy just created a quarterback controversy for the Giants","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-just-created-215036588.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy’s miracle comeback attempt fails short vs. Saints, but he must start over Jameis Winston","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-miracle-comeback-215949508.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"6 winners and 4 losers in from NY Giants’ 34-27 loss to New Orleans Saints","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/6-winners-4-losers-ny-223517407.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"J.J. McCarthy creates QB situation for John Harbaugh after sparking Giants' fourth-quarter rally against Saints","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/j-j-mccarthy-creates-qb-225514037.html"}],"image":null,"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}