The dichotomy of Jameis Winston’s NFL career was on full display in his and interim head coach Mike Kafka’s New York Giants debut on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
As significant underdogs in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, the veteran quarterback stepping in for the concussed Jaxson Dart marshalled Big Blue’s offense on four methodical drives of nine or more plays, including second-half possessions of 16 and 15 plays. He threw for 201 yards and added a rushing touchdown and had the Giants on the doorstep of a potential game-tying touchdown with less than a minute to go in regulation.
But from the Packers’ 14-yard line on a 3rd-&-6, Winston’s penchant for interceptions reared its ugly head, as receiver Jalin Hyatt stopped short on his route, and Evan Williams came down with the pick in the end zone to seal the Packers’ 27-20 victory.
“I’m gonna go back and look at the tape on it,” Kafka said. “Our guys were playing aggressive, and Jameis had an aggressive mindset all day. I think he’s trying to give his guy a chance in the end zone to score a touchdown.”
The result was the Giants’ (2-9) fifth consecutive loss, though the performance was far more admirable in their first outing since Brian Daboll was dismissed as head coach.
“My focus was on the game, my focus was on the players, putting them in the best positions,” Kafka said of his NFL coaching debut. “Just thinking through how we were going to play the game… that’s all my focus was on.”
Running back Devin Singletary recorded two touchdowns on an afternoon in which he and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (19 carries, 88 yards) combined for 132 yards, much in part to an offensive line that kept an imposing Packers pass rush at bay for the majority of the day.
Winston’s one-yard scoring stretch and the ensuing extra point from Yunghoe Koo — he and Packers kicker Lucas Havrisik combined to miss three of those — put the Giants ahead 20-19 with 7:22 remaining to cap off a 15-play, 85-yard drive that chewed up 7:59 of the clock.
But as Shane Bowen’s defense has done all season, New York coughed it up in a flash. Packers quarterback Jordan Love hit Christian Watson for a 17-yard dime in the right corner of the end zone over double coverage, and the ensuing two-point conversion put the NFC North side up seven with 4:02 remaining.
Winston looked unstoppable on the Giants’ opening drive, as he led them on a nine-play, 65-yard march that ended with a five-yard delay up the middle from Singletary. It was not just the first opening-drive touchdown allowed by the Packers this season, but it was also the first time they yielded a touchdown in the first quarter.
The Packers would reel off 13 unanswered following touchdowns by Watson from backup quarterback Malik Willis while Love was being checked out for a left-shoulder injury. Kicker Lucas Havrisik missed the extra point in the swirling MetLife Stadium winds. Backup running back Emanuel Watson, in for the injured Josh Jacobs (knee), scored from 11 yards out with 7:39 left in the half.
Behind a 3rd-&-12 conversion after Tracy broke a tackle in the backfield on a screen pass from Wilson and scampered 20 yards, the Giants were poised to go ahead late in the half when Singletary scored from two yards out with 1:11 to go. But an illegal chop block on the ensuing extra point forced Koo to try again from 48 yards out, which he missed, forcing New York to settle for a 13-13 scoreline at the break.
The Packers moved in front on their opening drive of the third quarter when Love connected with Josh Whyle, but another missed extra point meant Green Bay clung to a six-point lead.
Behind a pair of fourth-down conversions, the Giants uncorked their longest drive time-wise of the season, meandering 56 yards on 16 plays across 9:46, but a third fourth-down attempt from the Packers’ 10-yard line went awry when Winston was sacked.
Winston helped piece together another long drive to start the fourth quarter by going 85 yards on 15 plays while chewing up 7:59 of the clock, which was extended on a 13-yard completion to Isaiah Hodgins down to the Packers’ 9-yard line on a 4th-&-2. Winston punched it home from a yard out three plays later, and Koo’s extra point with 7:22 remaining put the hosts up one.
In his first game since re-joining the Giants from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad, Hodgins led his team with five catches for 57 yards.
