Saints Beat Giants 34-27; J.J. McCarthy Replaces Jameis Winston in Fourth Quarter
New Orleans scored 34 straight points after trailing 10-0 and handed the Giants their first home loss. J.J. McCarthy threw his first touchdown pass as a Giant in a 17-point rally that stalled at the Saints 14.
Update, Oct. 18, 6:25 p.m. EDT: Adds coach John Harbaugh's postgame comments on the starting quarterback.
The New Orleans Saints scored 34 straight points and beat the Giants 34-27 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, handing the Giants their first home loss of the season.
J.J. McCarthy replaced Jameis Winston after the Saints went ahead 34-10 with 11:31 left in the game, then led a 17-point rally.
Coach John Harbaugh did not name a starter for the next game. Asked whether McCarthy would start going forward, Harbaugh said in his postgame news conference, "It's not even up for discussion or conversation right now."
The Giants (3-2-1) remain first in the NFC East after Philadelphia lost to Carolina 25-14 and fell to 2-4.
The Giants led 10-0 on Winston's 17-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Tracy Jr. and a 34-yard field goal by Dominic Zvada. Daniel Carlson made a 58-yarder for the Saints, and Charlie Jones fumbled the next kickoff. Oscar Delp recovered at the Giants 28, and quarterback Tyler Shough threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Lance with 1 second left in the half.
Shough threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Kamara and ran for a 1-yard score in the third quarter. Martin Emerson Jr. intercepted Winston to set up Carlson's 51-yard field goal. Julian Blackmon intercepted Winston early in the fourth quarter, and Shough threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave two plays later.
McCarthy's first drive ended in Emerson's second interception. After Arvell Reese recovered a Saints fumble, Tracy ran 5 yards for a touchdown and McCarthy threw to Isaiah Likely for the two-point conversion. McCarthy then hit Likely for a 24-yard touchdown, his first touchdown pass as a Giant. The two-point try failed, and Zvada kicked a 41-yard field goal.
The Giants took over at their 29 with 1:06 left. McCarthy ran 28 yards and completed passes of 20 yards to Likely and 9 to Malik Nabers to reach the Saints 14. McCarthy spiked the ball on third-and-1, and his fourth-down pass to Likely fell incomplete with 12 seconds left.
McCarthy completed 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Winston was 14 of 26 for 152 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Nabers caught 12 passes for 165 yards. The Giants had four turnovers to the Saints' one.
In the third quarter, the Giants ruled out cornerback Greg Newsome II with a concussion. Receiver Darnell Mooney had a neck injury, and left tackle Andrew Thomas was evaluated for a concussion after exiting in the fourth quarter, the team said.
The Giants play at Houston on Oct. 25.