It was always a matter of when J.J. McCarthy's time with the New York Giants would come after they traded for him in September, not if. Expectations weren't very high for the third-year quarterback, though he outperformed even the most optimistic forecasts in his first start.
What McCarthy did in the Giants' 27-21 overtime upset of the Houston Texans, on the road no less, was nothing short of impressive. Frankly, he hadn't shown that much poise and confidence since entering the NFL as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft. It's a testament to what a change of scenery can do, especially for a talented young guy like him.
While it's only a one-game sample size, McCarthy certainly looked the part of a serviceable, if not good, signal-caller. But how does he stack up to his NFC East counterparts?
NFC East QB rankings entering Week 8: J.J. McCarthy trending up after first Giants start
McKee was a sixth-round selection the same year the Minnesota Vikings took McCarthy. Despite vastly different pedigrees, however, the former had been the better player, at least based on what we saw before their recent call-ups.
The Eagles have been a tough watch with McKee under center in 2026. He hasn't kept the chains moving or gotten anything going downfield across two appearances. No club has punted on a higher rate of drives in Weeks 6 and 7 (49.3 percent), and his 78.4 passer rating was 26th among 35 QBs during that stretch.
Granted, McKee deserves some leeway; he's working with the Eagles' B-team offense. They're down several skill-position pieces, including standout wide receiver DeVonta Smith, and workhorse running back Saquon Barkley is clearly operating at less than 100 percent. The brutal environment shouldn't be overlooked, though McCarthy's setup hasn't exactly been perfect.
McCarthy's strong 84.6 percent catchable throw rate finished 10th out of 29 options in Week 7, compared to McKee's 78.8 percent, which ranked 18th. The former also recorded the highest hero throw rate (14.3 percent) of the entire slate and zero turnover-worthy plays.
It was far from a perfect day for McCarthy. The Houston Texans' defense bottled him up in the second half, with 178 of his 252 passing yards coming in the first two quarters. He also couldn't avoid pressure and took three sacks.
Nevertheless, the positives far outweighed the negatives. McCarthy's knack for generating explosives through the air was on full display against a surprisingly leaky Texans secondary. He unlocked an element of the Giants' playbook that appeared to be dead and gone once Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Could McCarthy challenge the next name on the list? It's probably way (way) too soon to have that discussion, and he has significant ground to make up, but hey, crazier things have happened, right?
Daniels and the Commanders were off this week, yet we know what he is: a dual-threat stud. Of course, the Giants know this by now, considering they saw it firsthand in their wacky 27-27 tie. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards and added nine carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
As dynamic as Daniels has proven he can be, his rise hasn't been linear. The LSU product hasn't recreated the spark that took the league by storm in Year 1. It's been over 365 days since we've seen him win a game — no, that's not a typo.
Alas, the main question surrounding Daniels is his health (or lack thereof). He's missed 11 contests since 2025, primarily because of a nagging non-throwing elbow injury.
Few are as steady as Prescott. He's a virtual lock for 250-plus yards and multiple scores. His consistency is almost boring, yet that makes him an easy choice for the division's top passers.
With the Cowboys' playoff hopes effectively on the line in primetime, Prescott delivered. It wasn't his most efficient outing, as evidenced by a 55.6 percent completion rate, but he dialed up the deep ball. The four-time Pro Bowler's 12.96-yard average depth of target was a Week 7 high.
Prescott, 33, has total command of Dallas' offense. He's a seasoned vet who's seen everything from a coverage standpoint. Daniels, McCarthy and McKee still have a way to go before reaching that level of mastery at football's most important position.
Note: Advanced metrics courtesy of Fantasy Points' data suite 2.0 ($).
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