Detroit coach Dan Campbell doesn’t seem to think his team caught a break when the New York Giants announced Jameis Winston would start at quarterback on Sunday against the Lions.
Jaxson Dart will miss the game because of a concussion, putting Winston on the field for the second Sunday in a row after he had been New York’s emergency third quarterback for the first nine games of the NFL season.
Campbell’s final season as New Orleans’ assistant head coach and tight-ends coach in 2020 also was the first of Winston’s four seasons with the Saints.
“Look, I know Winston very well, man,” Campbell said. “This guy, he can put it on a dime and he’s not afraid to freaking rip it in there. You know, he’s competitive, smart guy, and so, look, he’s going to give them a chance. He’s played a lot of games, man. Won a lot of games.”
Campbell said the former Hueytown High School star’s impact goes beyond his quarterback play.
“He’s a great human being,” Campbell said. “He’s a leader, man. He’s one of those guys that I think, a lot like Teddy (Bridgewater), just people gravitate to him because he’s such a positive, upbeat, competitive man. Doesn’t get frazzled. Doesn’t get worried about the small stuff. He’s just a great dude, man, and he does a lot of things for a lot of people. So that’s the type of guy he is. Enjoyed our time together. He’s a pro, man. He’s a stud.”
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New York overhauled its quarterback situation in the offseason by signing veterans Winston and Russell Wilson and drafting Dart from Ole Miss in the first round.
Russell started the first three games. Dart started the next seven, including the Giants’ two victories in 2025, before a concussion sidelined the rookie, putting Winston on the field for the first time this season in a 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
New York had hoped Dart could return to the field against the Lions. But after Dart practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday, Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka announced on Friday the rookie QB had not cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“Well, I just found out,” Winston told reporters in the locker room on Friday about starting on Sunday. “I just knew I had to be ready. Whatever is required for me to be ready, I’m ready for it.”
After discussing the assignment with the press, Winston was asked at the end of the gathering if he would have to “cram” to be ready to play against Detroit.
“Did you not listen to me talk this entire time?” Winston said. “… You literally just ignored everything that I just said. Pressure is for the unprepared. I am ready every single week to play.”
The Giants fired coach Brian Daboll on Nov. 10 and elevated Kafka, the offensive coordinator, to run the team for the rest of the season. Kafka skipped over Wilson to start Winston when Dart couldn’t play against the Packers.
“No surprise to me that Jameis is ready to go,” Kafka said Friday. “I have full confidence in him, just like I did last week, and we’ll just keep on carrying on and Jameis will carry the torch for the group. …
“He’s a true pro — the way he prepares, the way he approaches the day. Whether he was the starter, the backup or the third, he’s prepared the same way. So his consistency has been a good thing and something you can bank on, something you can lean on, and then his veteran leadership as well.”
In the 88th start of his NFL career, Winston completed 19-of-29 passes for 201 yards with no touchdowns and one interception against Green Bay.
The interception came in the end zone with 36 seconds to play.
The 2-9 Giants face the 6-4 Lions at noon CST Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit.
“This is a tenacious defense,” Winston said of the Lions. “I know their head coach. I was with him in New Orleans, so I know how they roll. They’re going to be ready to play, they’re going to be playing fast, they’re going to be playing tough, and we have to be willing and able to do the same, and we are.”
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