The New York Giants had as bad of a game as you could imagine for over three quarters. Head coach John Harbaugh's decision to punish running back Cam Skattebo backfired, with the rushing offense being absolutely lifeless. Quarterback Jameis Winston didn't help matters, as he threw two interceptions.
The Giants were down 34-10 after leading 10-0. But a change at quarterback helped the Giants change the tide at the end. To the bench went Winston, and into the game went J.J. McCarthy, who the Giants acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings after Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury. In the fourth quarter, McCarthy fell just short of a Giants comeback attemp, with the team scoring 17 unanswered points to lose 34-27.
In just a limited amount of play, McCarthy threw for 243 yards and one touchdown while completing 11-of-21 pass attempts. And in that quarter, he showed the Giants he is deserving of remaining the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
J.J. McCarthy makes strong impression to remain Giants QB1 after Week 6 heroics
The Giants were actively searching for a quarterback they could bring in to try and salvage their season once Dart suffered his knee injury in Week 2. They didn't' bring in McCarthy just because the Vikings were getting rid of him for a bargain, or because he played for Harbaugh's younger brother, Jim, at Michigan. The reason they brought him in was because he was a better fit for Matt Nagy's offense.
With Dart, the Giants were implementing plenty of RPO-style plays. Fans saw that plenty in New York's stunning Week 1 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. With all due respect to Winston, he just isn't a fit for those kind of plays, due in part to his inability to run with the football. McCarthy has the running ability to be able to thrive in the offense.
McCarthy was primarily used on trick plays since joining the Giants. which didn't really work out all too well. All it took was for him to get a opportunity to prove his worth. He did just that.
Almost completing a miracle comeback in a game that looked to be over midway through the third quarter is a hell of an impression for McCarthy to make. He connected with tight end Isaiah Likely on an impressive touchdown catch. Then, there was his deep, 46-yard pass to Malik Nabers. All in all, while McCarthy only completed 11 of his passes, they were huge throws that were on the money.
He did enough to at least create a quarterback controversy.
John Harbaugh won't yet commit to J.J. McCarthy as starting quarterback for Giants
After the game, Harbaugh was asked whether he is considering making a change at starting quarterback next week when they take on the Houston Texans. Harbaugh didn't want to provide an answer, instead side-stepping it by saying it was "only 10 minutes after the game."
We get Harbaugh doesn't want to make a decision that quickly after the game, but it will be malpractice if he decides to run it back with Winston again, who he said made some good plays in the game. If a quarterback was able to put up 243 yards in a quarter, it's probably a good idea to at least consider starting him the next game.
As for McCarthy, he was asked about his play and about potentially getting handed the reins as the starter. McCarthy said he's only focused on getting better, but that he hopes he showed Harbaugh enough that he can be trusted.
“I hope I just showed them that I can do my job at a high enough level that they can trust me out there," said McCarthy, h/t The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll.
It's been obvious that even with the injuries, Harbaugh is still focused on leading the Giants to the playoffs no matter what. If he wants to ensure the offense runs well enough to make wins easier to attain, moving forward with McCarthy as the QB1 is the move he needs to make.
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