J.J. McCarthy’s Giants run is starting to look a lot like the kind of quarterback comeback story the NFL keeps handing us.
It’s become a familiar route: a highly drafted quarterback flops in his first stop, spends time bouncing around as a backup, lands in the right setup, and suddenly looks like a real starter. Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones have all taken that road in recent years. McCarthy may be next.
The Vikings made him the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft after trading up for him, but the fit never clicked. Injuries played a part, and so did McCarthy’s own slow development as an NFL prospect. By the time it was obvious Kevin O’Connell wasn’t going to be the coach to turn McCarthy from a Michigan-style game manager - backed by defense and a strong run game - into a franchise quarterback, the Vikings had already moved on.
That move came on September 28, when Minnesota sent McCarthy to the Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick. His stock had dropped that far.
He was buried as the Vikings’ third-string quarterback behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz, while the Giants were scrambling after Jaxson Dart went down with meniscus and MCL injuries in his left knee in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams. New York needed help behind Jameis Winston.
McCarthy needed a reset.
He got one in the most unexpected way possible during the Giants’ 34-27 Week 6 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Winston threw an interception with 12:28 left, and after New York had already built a 10-0 lead before falling behind 34-10, head coach John Harbaugh turned to McCarthy looking for a spark. What he got was much more than that.
In less than a full fourth quarter, McCarthy went 11 of 21 for 243 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 90.0 passer rating. The big number wasn’t just the yardage - it was how he got it. McCarthy was pushing the ball downfield and hitting explosive throws right on the money, not just living off short completions and yards after the catch.
That outing earned him a spot in Secret Superstars for Week 6, and it also earned him the starting job for Week 7 against the Houston Texans.
The Texans were still a real test, even if DeMeco Ryans’ defense wasn’t the same unit it was in 2025, when it was maybe the NFL’s best. McCarthy answered with another clean, efficient performance in a 27-21 overtime win, completing 20 of 28 passes for 252 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 99.1 passer rating.
The Giants leaned on the run, but McCarthy kept showing the same thing: he can make the throws that matter. The route concepts around him also started to show up more clearly, and they’ve helped him play to his strengths at this stage of his career.
That’s where the new environment matters. O’Connell built concepts too, of course, but sometimes a quarterback just needs a different setting.
“Preparation,” McCarthy said after the Texans game, when asked how the tight-window throws have been such a big part of his recent performances. “I feel like preparation, over the years of playing football, you just refine the routine each and every week.
I feel like I’m in a really good spot right now, just Monday through Saturday and just being able to have that trust in these guys as early as now, since I’ve been here. I haven’t been here long, but I trust those guys every time the ball comes out of my hand.
I trust the offensive line up front. I trust the backs are going to get us in great situations when I do hit the checkdowns, but at the end of the day, it’s the players around me.”
Now the 4-2-1 Giants turn to a 2-6 Philadelphia Eagles team that has been a major disappointment, with Vic Fangio’s defense taking a surprising step back. Fangio addressed the Giants on Tuesday and singled out McCarthy, too.
“They’ve got a really good offense. They’ve got skill at the receiving position.
They did a nice job raiding the Ravens, not only for John [Harbaugh], but for [TE Isaiah] Likely and [FB Patrick] Ricard. They’ve got a lot of the Ravens-type offense that they had when Greg [Roman] was there, and they’ve intermixed Kansas City-type passing in there with Matt [Nagy].
They’ve got it going right now. They’ve got good wideouts, good tight ends, two good backs.
The quarterback has come in, in a short period of time, and really done a nice job, for them to get him for a [fifth-round] pick is a steal.”
If McCarthy keeps this up and helps push the NFC East-leading Giants to the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season, the story around him changes fast. A career that looked stalled could suddenly have a new chapter.
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