DETROIT – The Jameis Winston alternate reality, in all its glory, was an electric experience during Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
The wily Giants veteran quarterback threw a 39-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass to Wan’Dale Robinson off a toss from running back Devin Singletary in the first quarter.
Then Winston caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Gunner Olszewski in the third quarter, throwing a Heisman-pose stiff arm onto Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes to gallop into the end zone.
Then he threw a fourth quarter interception to Lions safety Thomas Harper. Then he escaped a sack by Lions edge Al-Quadin Muhammad to complete a 39-yard pass to tight end Theo Johnson on 3rd and 17 in crunch time.
And he did all of that, racking up 517 total yards of Giants offense, only two days after finding out he was going to be the Giants’ starting quarterback, when rookie Jaxson Dart (concussion) failed to clear the protocol late in the week.
Winston wasn’t able to finish the job in regulation or in overtime, unfortunately.
The Giants turned it over on downs in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. Lions kicker Jake Bates drilled a 59-yard field goal with 28 seconds to play to send the game to overtime at 27 apiece.
Then Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs exploded through a gaping hole in Andre Patterson’s Giants defensive line for a 69-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in overtime.
And Winston was sacked on fourth down by Lions edge Aidan Hutchinson to end the game with 4:19 remaining in OT.
The Giants (2-10) lost their sixth straight game and their second since Mike Kafka took over as interim head coach. This marks their fifth loss this season when they led by at least 10 points and coughed it up.
All five losses happened on the road, where they are now 0-7 on the season.
