It feels like just 44 days ago that the New York Giants officially lost starting quarterback Jaxson Dart to a season-ending knee injury. And it feels like just 42 days ago that I floated the idea of the G-Men poaching then-Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Joe Milton III off their practice squad to add another arm to Big Blue's QB room.
Milton is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, and according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he'll make his 2026 debut under center in Week 9 against none other than the Giants. What a full-circle moment for me.
The Eagles signed Milton off Dallas' practice squad on Oct. 16, and after watching Tanner McKee lose three straight starts in place of the injured Jalen Hurts, apparently Eagles HC Nick Sirianni has seen enough (or wants to keep his buns off the hot seat). Philadelphia is in the middle of a six-game losing skid, and the offense is sputtering to the tune of a hilariously miserable 17.1 points per game.
Desperate times call for Milton, I suppose.
Giants can't afford to overlook Joe Milton in crucial NFC East matchup
On paper, this should be a pretty favorable matchup for Big Blue. The Eagles are 2-6. Their offense has been a disaster. And the Giants are coming off their bye week, sitting comfortably atop the NFC East at 4-2-1.
New York is even favored to win in the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since 2009, which is pretty remarkable considering the G-Men haven't actually won at Lincoln Financial Field since 2013.
But there's something about facing a QB with almost no meaningful NFL tape that brings out the nerves in me.
Milton has an absolute cannon for an arm and brings a different element to Philly's offense than McKee. His accuracy can be all over the place, but the G-Men would be foolish to assume they're in for an easy afternoon just because he's making his first career start. They should know better than anyone.
Just look at what J.J. McCarthy did against the Houston Texans in Week 7. The 23-year-old completed 20 of 28 passes for 252 yards and helped lead the Giants to a pretty shocking overtime win. Houston didn't exactly have a mountain of McCarthy tape to prepare for, either.
Now, Giants DC Dennard Wilson gets to experience the other side of that equation for himself.
Big Blue has to keep Milton contained and avoid giving him opportunities to turn broken plays into something ridiculous. The last thing this defense needs is to let a quarterback who's been in Philadelphia for less than three weeks suddenly look like the second coming of Hurts or Donovan McNabb or whoever Eagles fans think was their best QB.
With the NFC East collectively forgetting how to win football games, the G-Men have the perfect chance to tighten their grip on first place on Sunday. They just can't afford to let Joe Milton play spoiler.
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