With similar traits as Jaxson Dart, J.J. McCarthy gives Giants chance to win rest of season
· Yahoo Sports
HOUSTON – The throw to Malik Nabers towards the end of the first half was remarkable. J.J. McCarthy didn’t set his feet. He couldn’t pivot. The rush closed, he let it fly. Over one defender, and another, right as Nabers ran out.
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The Giants quarterback made another a bit before. Houston sent a blitz. It broke the pocket. McCarthy evaded, climbed, then fired a laser, on the move, to Nabers. Truthfully, there were plenty for him to choose from in the Giants 27-21 overtime victory. McCarthy was tremendous.
But he didn’t care much to talk about them as he packed up his locker. He couldn’t shake the one he felt he missed – a batted ball at the line with Isaiah Likely open in the flat.
“It was there, man,” he said. “Right there.”
A grounded response in an environment the embattled quarterback could have taken a victory lap.
Want to believe the 4-2-1 Giants? Look to McCarthy. Because if this off-field maturity and on-field prowess are here to stay, the NFC East will belong to New York.
The Giants’ season-opening victory over the Cowboys seems like a lifetime ago – in NFL years, it was. The way they took down Dallas was a message. Year 1 under John Harbaugh didn’t have to be Step 1 in a rebuild. There were pieces in place to win now, namely young quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Seven plays into Week 2 Dart’s season ended. The Giants have since lost defensive cornerstones Brian Burns and Tremaine Edmunds, too. A quarterback injury sinks most teams. Packaged with New York’s other absences it's a death sentence. It’s why things felt hollow when the Giants beat the lowly Titans and Cardinals before tying the Commanders. There was a limit to what they could accomplish with then-quarterback Jameis Winston – a short term, hold-things-steady reserve.
The 1.5-game lead in the NFC East wasn’t indicative of who the Giants were, but a product of the division’s lowly other patrons. That changed in Houston.
“Yeah, I’m having fun,” Harbaugh said. “I’m having a lot of fun.”
McCarthy finished 20 of 28 (71.4 percent) for 252 yards. He completed 10 of 12 passes for 88 yards when under pressure. He was 4 of 6 for 32 yards when blitzed. New York's offense gained 420 yards.
The rushing attack, which Harbaugh had hoped would open with McCarthy’s presence, totaled 188 yards. Cam Skattebo rushed 17 times for 124. Devin Singeltary scored the game-winning, 30-yard, walkoff in overtime.
McCarthy, still just 23 years old and making only his 11th career start, looked very much like a player worthy of his first-round draft selection. He didn’t turn it over. He bought time with his legs. He layered throws and threw with anticipation. He worked through his reads playing within the structure of Matt Nagy’s offense.
The Giants traded for McCarthy after Dart went down believing, once caught up to speed, he’d allow their offense to function with similar principles and concepts to that of Dart, where much of that needed to be thrown out with the statuesque Winston.
On Sunday, McCarthy not only raised the floor for the team, but showed his ceiling hasn’t yet been touched.
“Guys have scars,” said Harbaugh. “He has scars. He’s been wounded. He’s been broken. He’s been battered. But you heal strong, and you become better because of it.”
The Giants are the poster child for adversity this season. Fitting that McCarthy now leads them. Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings drafted him believing he’d be their next franchise quarterback, replacing Kirk Cousins. Then McCarthy tore his meniscus the summer of his rookie year. He missed the entire season. He watched from the sideline as Sam Darnold led Minnesota to 14 wins in his absence.
The Vikings made the decision to let Darnold walk in the offseason. They turned things over to McCarthy. There was a learning curve, growing pains. He clashed with O’Connell. Tough love had an adverse effect. He missed more time due to injury. Minnesota missed the playoffs and, in the offseason, signed his replacement in Kyler Murray and demoted him to third string after retaining Carson Wentz.
The Vikings welcomed the Giants' call.
“He just needs a fresh start,” a source in Minnesota told SNY. “It wasn’t going to work here.”
McCarthy hasn’t stopped smiling since arriving in New York. He’s connected with teammates on both sides of the ball. There’s a working, back-and-forth relationship with Nagy to marry his offensive philosophies with what McCarthy is comfortable with. He’s as confident now as ever before, the game slowing down. He’s playing loose, free, trusting what he’s seeing and letting it fly.
The Giants benched Winston for McCarthy in the fourth quarter against the Saints. McCarthy threw for 243 yards and a touchdown, nearly leading a miraculous 24-point comeback. An aberration, most felt, much like the Giants record.
That wasn’t how McCarthy viewed it, nor the Giants.
“There’s a lot of things that go into playing NFL quarterback and it takes a little bit to figure those things out,” McCarthy said. “I really feel like I was on an upward trajectory after (Week 14 vs. Washington in 2025).”
Harbaugh called this victory for the Giants "pivotal" and indeed it was. The team now sits 2.5 games up in the division, seven weeks through the season. They can now head into the bye week and heal, rest. For McCarthy, continue to engulf himself in the offseason – a reminder, he’s only been on the team five weeks.
Things do not get much easier for New York out of their break. They’ll face back-to-back rivals in the Eagles and Commanders, then a very good Jaguars team. Sure, they’ll see the Colts, only to then follow with a game against the 49ers.
There’s such a different outlook on this team now. They don’t need luck, or the teams they’re playing to make mistakes, in order to win.
Their quarterback, once again, gives them a chance to win.
“This is just the beginning,” McCarthy said.