Jameis Winston’s ghastly performance dooms Giants after Jaxson Dart injury

It is all fun and games with Jameis Winston — until his games begin. 

The smile that is seemingly tattooed on the face of the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick was quickly erased after Winston was unexpectedly thrust into action for an injured Jaxson Dart in the Giants’ 28-6 Monday night loss to the Rams. 

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Though the Giants entered the season better positioned than most teams to succeed without their starting quarterback, the veteran backup looked like an overwhelmed rookie after Dart was knocked out of the game with a knee injury on the first possession, passing 11-for-27 for 111 yards and an interception. 

Earlier this month, Winston signed a two-year extension with the Giants, but it will be hard for John Harbaugh to feel comfortable putting the 32-year-old back under center after a ghastly performance in which he sailed several throws, struggled with pressure and led the team to 182 total yards and 11 first downs. 

Because of Dart’s injury history, it was no surprise to see Winston called into action, but the fun-loving character who has won the affection of fans nationwide lost so many of them in the Metropolitan Area after completing just one of his first six passes for 1 yard. 

On Winston’s first possession, the Giants were set to get into field goal range, but Winston badly overthrew Devin Singletary on a short throw, forcing the team to punt. Next, the Giants went three-and-out after a pair of incompletions by Winston. Then, trailing 14-0, the Giants finally drove into the Rams’ red zone midway through the second quarter, but Winston took away the possibility for points on a terrible interception thrown directly to Trent McDuffie. 

In the final minutes of the first half, the coaching staff showed how much confidence they had left in Winston, following a fumble recovery that put the Giants at the Rams’ 11-yard line. After three plays and three runs, the Giants settled for three points. Any hope of a comeback was killed by the Winston-led offense, which produced 30 yards on its first three possessions of the second half. 

Winston started two games for the Giants last season, completing 56.1 percent of his passes for 567 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He is 36-53 as a starter in his career.