J.J. McCarthy throws first touchdown pass for Giants, nearly leads game-tying comeback

Making his second appearance for the New York Giants since being traded from the Minnesota Vikings , quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw his first touchdown pass for his new team during Sunday's 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

With 5:04 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Giants trailing 34-18, McCarthy finished off a three-play, 78-yard drive by hitting tight end Isaiah Likely down the left hash on a seam route for a 24-yard score.

The third-year QB entered the game with 11:25 left in the fourth and the Giants facing a 34-10 deficit. He replaced Jameis Winston, who threw an interception on New York's previous possession. The Saints took over at New York's 21-yard line and scored in two plays, capped by Tyler Shough connecting with Chris Olave for an 18-yard touchdown.

McCarthy's first series ended with an interception. On the fifth play of the series, facing a third-and-10 from the Saints' 44-yard line, McCarthy looked for Malachi Fields on a short drag route but was picked off by Martin Emerson Jr.

But the Giants got the ball back two plays later when safety Jason Pinnock forced a fumble by running back C.J. Donaldson. New York took over at its 48-yard line and took six plays to find the end zone on a 5-yard run by Tyrone Tracy Jr. McCarthy connected with Likely on a 2-point conversion to pull the Giants to within two scores.

New York then forced a three-and-out by New Orleans and took over on offense with 5:54 left in regulation. McCarthy hit Charlie Jones for a 49-yard pass, then followed an incompletion with his scoring throw to Likely that cut the Saints' lead to 10 points.

After the defense forced another three-and-out, the Giants followed up with a 7-yard, 69-yard drive that ended with a 41-yard Dominic Zvada field goal to pull New York to within one touchdown.

The Giants had an opportunity to tie the score (or take the lead) with 0:57 remaining. But they used their final two timeouts on the previous defensive series. That likely factored into McCarthy's decision-making process on New York's final offensive play.

McCarthy opened the drive with a 28-yard run and connected with Likely on a 20-yard gain, alternating with two spikes to stop the clock. He then hit Malik Nabers for a 9-yard pass, followed by a spike to stop the clock with 12 seconds remaining.

On the Giants' final play, McCarthy appeared to have Nabers open for a touchdown under the goal posts but made the wrong read. He also probably could have run to the right for a first down on fourth-and-1. But with no timeouts left, the clock likely would have expired.

After making no throws in a brief appearance in last week's overtime tie with the Washington Commanders, McCarthy finished with 243 yards passing — in under 12 minutes — while completing 11 of 21 passes for 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He also ran for 26 yards on 2 rushes.

The question might now become whether that performance was enough for head coach John Harbaugh to consider giving McCarthy the start next week at the Houston Texans.