Giants' Jameis Winston had the perfect reaction to being benched for J.J. McCarthy

Shortly after first-year New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh confirmed last week that he was benching starting quarterback Jameis Winston in favor of in-season acquisition J.J. McCarthy, Winston vowed that he would do all he could to "support" McCarthy. 

It turns out Winston was a man of his word. 

Jameis Winston immediately began helping J.J. McCarthy after the demotion

During the latest edition of "The Schrager Hour" program, show host and ESPN personality Peter Schrager spoke with Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy about how Winston has handled the demotion. 

"The leadership that he brings every day is never taken for granted," Nagy said about Winston. "The day he is told that he's not the starter, which was in the morning, later on that day, I walked by the hallway downstairs. He's running a meeting with just two people. Him and J.J. are in there watching third down, and he's running it. And I'm just saying to myself, that's the stuff that people don't see."

Outsiders still don't fully know how familiar McCarthy is with the Giants playbook, as New York acquired him from the Minnesota Vikings in late September. Winston's study sessions seemed to help, as McCarthy went 20-of-28 passing for 252 yards with no turnovers to help the Giants earn a 27-21 overtime win over the Houston Texans on Oct. 25. Meanwhile, Winston was one of four different Giants players who tallied rushing scores at Houston's Reliant Stadium. 

Jameis Winston promised Giants he'd be "the best teammate" after being benched

While speaking with reporters last week, Winston acknowledged that he understood he didn't play well enough to remain New York's starter when he went 14-of-26 passing for 152 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions against the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 18.

"He said, 'Listen, I understand how this game goes. I understand what I did and didn't do. And I'm going to be the best teammate, leader that I can possibly be for us this year,'" Nagy added about Winston's immediate reaction to being benched. "And now he does it. And so that's why I'm so excited to see when he gets that touchdown run in the goal line (against Houston), he comes in on third down, and that's just who he is. And that's never going to change. And everyone in this building absolutely loves him."

Winston's presence seems to be one reason the vibes within the Giants remained high after the club lost Week 1 QB1 Jaxson Dart and star pass-rusher Brian Burns to season-ending injuries in September. As for McCarthy, he is on track to make his second start of the season when the 4-2-1 Giants play at the rival Philadelphia Eagles (2-5) on Nov. 8.