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The New York Giants may rue their end-of-game offensive execution in their 27-27 tie against the Washington Commanders, but they wouldn’t have even made it to overtime without Jameis Winston.
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Winston overcame a first-half lost fumble and played through slick conditions, going 33 of 54 for 326 yards and three touchdowns against the Commanders defense Sunday.
Winston even extended plays with his legs, rushing five times for 27 yards. He guided the Giants back from a 27-13 fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime when he hit No. 1 wideout Malik Nabers for a 17-yard touchdown with 1:03 left in regulation.
Jameis Winston Was ‘Amazing in the Second Half’
Perhaps Winston feels backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy breathing down his neck, because the Giants’ current starter has elevated his game the past two weeks.
Winston started 7 of 16 for 76 yards and the lost fumble while guiding the Giants to only three first-half points. But from the opening kickoff of the second half, Winston looked like a completely different player, going 26 of 38 and exploiting mismatches for Nabers (11 catches, 121 yards, 1 touchdown) and tight end Isaiah Likely (11 catches, 94 yards, 2 touchdowns).
“I think when your back is against the wall, you have to depend on your playmakers,” Winston said. “I think we did a good job of doing that, getting the guys the football and mixing up on them. [I] kind of just threw them off schedule.”
Giants coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy ran a faster-paced offense, which catered to Winston’s strengths.
“I thought he was amazing in the second half,” Harbaugh said. “We tried some different things, and he really settled into the things we did offensively, and he was amazing. First half, he wasn’t. He’d be the first to tell you that, but that’s on everybody.
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“We were down. We started throwing the ball, drop-back game. I thought Jameis just thrived in that, so that was good for us.”
Jameis Winston Made NFL History
Rallying from 14 points down in the final eight minutes may seem doable, but until Sunday no quarterback had done it in more five decades.
According to ESPN Insights, Winston became the first quarterback since 1970 to avoid a loss when trailing by 14 points in the final eight minutes.
Entering today, the New York Giants were 0-230 since 1970 when trailing by 14+ points in the final 8 minutes of regulation.
They’re now 0-230-1. pic.twitter.com/Ridz5TPoFv
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 11, 2026
ESPN Insights also noted the Commanders had a 97.9% win probability when they were ahead by 14. But Winston had a different idea.
“My desire is to be a great starting quarterback in the NFL,” Winston said. “I dreamed of this, and this is who I am, and I know that I’m going to continue to get better and find ways to help this team win football games.”
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 7:36 PM.