New York Giants quarterback JJ McCarthy was cleared to start for Thursday Night Football against the Washington Commanders despite a hip issue. However, Jameis Winston still made a brief cameo against the Commanders, and not because of a McCarthy injury.
Instead, Winston came on to perform a quarterback sneak on 4th & 1 in the second quarter. The veteran quarterback was able to execute perfectly to get the 1st down and keep the Giants' drive alive.
That 4th down conversion by Winston ended up being huge for the Giants as it eventually resulted in the first touchdown of the game. In another short-yardage situation, the Giants called on Cam Skattebo this time around, and the running back had no problem punching the ball in. The touchdown capped off an impressive 16-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes.
In his second year with the Giants, Winston was the team's starter to start the season. By far his best performance of the season came against the Commanders. He had 326 yards and three touchdowns in the 27-27 tie. Winston also filled in for McCarthy in the team's 19-11 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He completed six of his eight pass attempts for 71 yards and a touchdown to Isaiah Likely.
The Giants find themselves down 10-7 to the Commanders at the half on Thursday night. Washington answered the Giants' touchdown with a TD drive of their own. Facing 3rd & goal on the one-yard line, Jayden Daniels found tight end Ben Sinnott for the score to give the Commanders the lead.