After Striking Out at the Trade Deadline, Giants’ Weaknesses Are Exposed in Loss to Commanders

Even though J.J. McCarthy threw for nearly 300 yards, Thursday’s loss proved New York isn’t ready to compete with the league’s best teams.

Giants QB J.J. McCarthy was under duress often, but managed to throw for 293 yards and a touchdown Thursday night. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

John Harbaugh likely doesn’t care that he broke a few unwritten rules or that his phone number caused more irritation than seeing a “scam likely” call. 

Harbaugh called everybody ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline. The Giants’ head coach was a nuisance, but judicious. He had the audacity and awareness to call up the Falcons about star running back Bijan Robinson. Atlanta isn’t going anywhere with Robinson, but at the same time, it was a long shot for New York to acquire the elite back at the deadline. Still, Harbaugh made the call—or GM Joe Schoen, but we all know who’s truly calling the shots in New York.  

After being ignored by Titans GM Mike Borgonzi, Harbaugh pivoted and called owner Amy Adams Strunk to ask about Jeffery Simmons. That’s supposedly a big no-no among NFL executives. You can’t go around calling the parents when not getting your way. But more coaches with power should gladly take the assignment of high school hall monitor if it means better odds at acquiring players as good as Simmons. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if Harbaugh’s first text after the Giants blew it against the Commanders, 24–21, on Thursday night went to Colts interim GM Ed Dodds, saying, “You should have traded me Jonathan Taylor.” Then again, Dodds might have blocked Harbaugh with how much the Giants asked about the workhorse back leading up to the trade deadline. 

Harbaugh tried his hardest to make a move for Taylor, Robinson and Simmons because, clearly, his team isn’t ready to compete with the league’s best teams, not when they’re coming down to the wire with the struggling Commanders—twice. 

McCarthy was sensational (293 yards, TD, INT), but the Giants (5-3-1) now find themselves in a three-way dog fight for the NFC East crown after giving the Cowboys hope (4–5) and letting the Commanders (3-5-1) back in the race. What a whimper after Jameis Winston nearly celebrated with his “Who Let The Dogs Out” shout on fourth-and-short. I bet Harbaugh goes for it there if he had Taylor or Robinson in his backfield.  

McCarthy throws a SEED to Likely, who does the rest 🔥

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Harbaugh needed to call all the important people because the Giants as constructed are merely a one-and-done team, and now it’s not a certainty they run away with the division. That was obvious after the back-and-forth with Washington, which now holds the tiebreaker over New York. To put it nicely, the Giants are a nice story and deserve credit for handling business when they’re not playing against Jayden Daniels and the Commanders, but they’re still a year away from making real noise. These Giants are pretenders, especially considering Harbaugh’s squad hasn’t played a team that’s currently inside the playoff picture.

On the bright side, there’s a strong chance the NFC East looks as bad as the NFC South if Harbaugh was more of a play-by-the-unwritten-rules kind of guy and never makes a move for McCarthy. Some coaches might have waited months to make a trade for a quarterback if they were in Harbaugh’s situation when Jaxson Dart sustained a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. If it were Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, he might have gotten complacent with a backup as good as Winston.

Giants brought in Jameis Winston for the sneak.

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Not Harbaugh, though. He didn’t sit back and wait around for the Winston rollercoaster to come crashing down. Instead, he saw an opportunity and quickly pounced on McCarthy back in September. For that, the Giants possibly found themselves a long-term franchise quarterback and perhaps the best playmaker in short-yardage situations—Winston executed his role to perfection again Thursday night. Minnesota’s eagerness to move on from the 2024 first-round pick became New York’s gain and another stain on O’Connell’s resume. 

Two days after the Vikings finally made a move and acquired Kirk Cousins to account for the McCarthy mistake—and many others—the Giants saw their new quarterback rile big-time throws to Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo and Isaiah Likely, who caught a 66-yard touchdown to give New York a 21–17 advantage with 8:13 left in regulation.

There could soon be a losing skid for Harbaugh because Jacksonville, San Francisco and Seattle are on the schedule in the next month. But they have a chance to compete because Harbaugh picked up the phone in September and quickly began the process of McCarthy working with his new coaches.

Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy might soon get another head-coaching opportunity with the tremendous work he has done with McCarthy in such a short time. McCarthy was ready when he replaced Winston in the fourth quarter of the Week 6 loss against the Saints. New York likely would have one less loss right now had McCarthy played that entire game. One of Harbaugh’s few mistakes this season is not turning to McCarthy sooner. 

He was that good on Thursday night, but the defense couldn’t get a stop against Daniels, who had the game-winning touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with 57 seconds left in regulation. 

It was a tough way to lose, but at least Harbaugh got confirmation that he was right to hound everybody for a shot to improve his team. They need all the help they can get as the schedule gets tougher down the stretch. The NFC East race is alive and well after what transpired Thursday night.  

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