New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston not only threw for 366 yards and two touchdowns, the former Hueytown High School star turned the first reception of his 11 NFL seasons into a TD, too, on Sunday. But the Giants still lost to the Detroit Lions 34-27 in overtime.
The defeat dropped New York to 2-9 with their sixth straight setback.
“I thought Winston played an outstanding game,” said Lions coach Dan Campbell, whose team improved to 7-4. “I thought he played a really, really big-time game and made a ton of throws. That’s what he’s capable of. That’s what he can do. I thought he played out of his mind. …
“We’re not always going to see that every week or get that every week. Those guys, boy, they came in to win that game. And we knew they would. They came in fighting.”
New York had Winston in the lineup for the second time this season with rookie Jaxson Dart sidelined by a concussion.
In his 89th NFL start, Winston posted his 32nd 300-yard passing game as he completed 18-of-36 passes for 366 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
On his third-down throws, Winston completed 7-of-12 passes for 158 yards. Two of the passes went for touchdowns, and the other five completions produced first downs.
“Jameis played his tail off,” Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka said. “Very, very proud of him. I mean, the throws he made, he stood in the pocket against a very good defense. Had a lot of production in the pass game. …
“I really liked the plan. I thought Jameis executed it and managed the game excellently.”
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New York had touchdown drives of four plays and 70 yards, six plays and 69 yards, and nine plays and 85 yards. And in the fourth quarter, the Giants moved 86 yards on 14 plays.
But that long series did not pay off: On fourth-and-goal at the Detroit 6-yard line, Winston’s pass to tight end Theo Johnson was knocked away by cornerback Rock Ya-Sin in the end zone, leaving New York with a three-point lead with 2:54 left in the fourth quarter.
“We were on the 3-yard line with a chance to put the freaking nail in the coffin, and I missed,” Winston said. “Theo Johnson on the quick flap. Like, that is the details. That is the execution that is required to win tough NFL games.”
Detroit responded with a 59-yard field goal by Jake Bates to tie the game with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs raced 69 yards for a touchdown on the first snap of the extra period.
New York moved from its 30-yard line to the Detroit 27, with the help of an 11-yard run by Winston on fourth-and-10. But on fourth-and-5, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson sacked Winston to end the game.
Last week in Winston’s first action of the 2025 season, the Giants took the Green Bay Packers to the wire. But the Packers held on for a 27-20 victory when they intercepted Winston in the end zone with 36 seconds to play.
“The success is in the struggle,” Winston said. “We have to continue to endure. One of my favorite Bible verses is: Count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance and let that perseverance have its perfect work so you can be complete lacking nothing. And I think this team is just in a season where we’re enduring certain trials. …
“We just have to find a way to win. And that’s as simple as that. I have to do my role better. We all have a part in this. But the coaches are putting us in a great position to do so collectively. We just have to find a way, and we will.”
The Giants took a 27-17 lead with 12:16 to play when Winston scored a 33-yard touchdown on a pass from wide receiver Gunner Olszewski. After catching the pass, Winston broke away from linebacker Derrick Barnes to reach the end zone.
“I like to consider myself an athlete,” Winston said. “I believe that I can make plays like that for this team. If I need to play tight end, I can. I do whatever it is that’s required for this team to have success, and I’m grateful that Kaf gave me an opportunity, and Gunner trusted me, too. He gave me a chance, and sometimes that’s all you got to do at the quarterback position -- give your guy a chance.”
While the reception was the first of Winston’s NFL career, it wasn’t his first catch of the game. On the Giants’ first possession, running back Devin Singletary threw across the backfield to Winston. The quarterback caught the football, sidestepped a pass-rusher and connected with wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson in the end zone 39 yards away for the game’s first points with 12:56 left in the opening quarter.
Winston’s other TD pass came on a 12-yard connection with wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins as the Giants took a 17-7 lead with 8:21 left in the first half.
Winston’s Sunday output pushed him past Bart Starr into fifth place among players from Alabama high schools and colleges for NFL career passing yards. Winston now has 24,792 passing yards. A Sidney Lanier High School and Alabama alumnus, Starr had 24,718 passing yards during his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Packers.
Ahead of Winston on the list are Philip Rivers (Athens) with 63,440 passing yards, Cam Newton (Auburn) with 32,383, Ken Stabler (Foley, Alabama) with 27,938 and Joe Namath (Alabama) with 27,663.
Newton and Winston are among the 16 players in NFL history with at least two touchdown passes and one touchdown reception in the same game.
The Giants play next in the Week 13 Monday night game. New York squares off against the New England Patriots at 7:15 p.m. CST Dec. 1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
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