McCarthy made his New York Giants debut on Sunday after stepping in for Jameis Winston mid-way through the game versus the New Orleans Saints, which the Giants went on to lose 34-27. McCarthy outperformed Winston by completing 11 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Winston completed 14 passes for 152 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Giants coach John Harbaugh was then tasked with making the decision regarding who would start in Week 7 versus the Houston Texans. On Wednesday, he publicly declared his choice. "We will be starting J.J. in the game, Jameis will be the backup and Jake will be the No. 3 emergency quarterback," Harbaugh said.
"He's got the game plan down. I think he had it down last week pretty fully, even more so this week." The Giants have been trying to figure the QB1 out ever since the original starter Jaxson Dart suffered a knee injury in Week 2 requiring him to miss the remainder of the season. Will McCarthy be the long-term solution at the starting quarterback situation?
Harbaugh gave quite a broad response, so it sounds like he doesn't know the answer to that question yet. "Life is day-to-day, minute-to-minute. There's really no guarantees," Harbaugh said.
I would never say that anything is permanent in football or life. That's the plan going forward." So, there is still the chance McCarthy could be benched for Winston or even third-string Jake Haener down the line if McCarthy doesn't deliver how the team hopes he will. McCarthy didn't have much success on his first team, the Minnesota Vikings, where he had a lot of promise when he was drafted 10th overall in 2024.
However, he tore his meniscus during the preseason and had to miss the entirety of his rookie season. Last season, McCarthy played in 10 games as the starter, missing seven contests because of various injuries: he suffered a high ankle sprain, a concussion and a hairline fracture in his throwing hand last year. At the start of the 2026 season, the Vikings named newly acquired quarterback Kyler Murray as the team's starter over McCarthy.
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