The Giants made their one in-season move at the trade deadline, and it has already paid off. New York landed JJ McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick, and the 23-year-old has given Big Blue exactly what it needed.
Since McCarthy took over at quarterback, the Giants have rattled off wins over the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles. That has pushed them to 5-2-1 entering Thursday night’s Week 10 matchup with the Commanders, a game that has New York sitting atop the NFC East.
McCarthy’s latest outing came in the win over Philadelphia, where he helped the Giants beat the Eagles for the first time since 2013. But the game also left a concern behind: he injured his hip and, while he is on track to play against Washington tonight, New York has to think bigger than one Thursday night.
The issue is simple. The Giants need McCarthy available for the stretch run, and the play that hurt him against the Eagles is exactly the kind of thing they can do without. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, in his Week 9 takeaways for all 32 NFL teams, said New York should get rid of designed quarterback runs after the hit from Eagles linebacker Zack Baun that left McCarthy visibly hurting on the sideline.
McCarthy tried to keep going, but he was clearly in pain while attempting to throw and eventually went to the locker room for further evaluation before returning. That kind of scare is the last thing the Giants can afford, especially after already losing Jaxson Dart for the season.
Health has been part of McCarthy’s story before, too. He missed an entire season because of injuries and dealt with injuries throughout his first season as the Vikings’ starting quarterback. For a Giants team trying to build a playoff run around him, that history makes caution feel less like a choice and more like a requirement.
The alternative has already been on display. Jameis Winston has started games for the Giants, but it’s clear the team has more confidence in McCarthy. That makes protecting him even more important as the schedule tightens up.
Thursday night against Washington is a must-win, and the next month won’t get any easier. After the Commanders, the Giants face the Jaguars next Sunday in a game moved to a 4:25 p.m. start time, then later run into the 49ers and Seahawks in back-to-back weeks.
With the rest of the division struggling, New York may only need eight or nine wins to reach the playoffs. That only raises the stakes for the Giants, who are trying to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2022.
McCarthy gives them their best shot to win the NFC East and keep this push alive. If that means dialing back the designed runs and leaning into a more conservative approach, the Giants have to do it.
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Giants Face A Brutal MetLife Problem Before Commanders Showdown
Thursday night brings an NFC East meeting at MetLife Stadium, and the setup is about as unfriendly as it gets for a November prime-time game. The Giants will host the Commanders under cold, rainy conditions, with forecasts calling for significant rainfall and wind gusts that could make every snap a little messier than usual. It is the kind of weather that tends to strip away the polish and turn a divisional game into a survival test.
For the Giants, that adds another layer to a matchup already carrying some edge because of Washingtons road struggles. A slick field and steady wind can push both teams toward a lower-scoring script, and it also raises the risk of the kind of incidental injuries that often come with sloppy footing and crowded traffic. In a game like this, execution matters even more, and whoever handles the conditions better may end up controlling a matchup that already looked like it could be decided by the smallest of margins. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Are Forcing A Playoff Debate Nobody Expected So Soon
The Giants have turned October into something far more interesting than a rebuilding exercise. At 5-2-1, they are suddenly in position to win the NFC East for the first time since 2011, and the numbers back up the surge. Even with injuries hitting key players, New York has stayed in the top half of the league in both offensive and defensive expected points added per play, which helps explain why the conversation around this team has shifted so quickly.
John Harbaughs group has also changed the math in a division that looked like it would be fought over by the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders. New Yorks playoff probability has climbed to 66 percent, a mark that would have sounded ambitious not long ago, but now feels like a fair reflection of how the Giants have been playing. The bigger question is no longer whether they belong in the mix, but how long they can keep forcing everyone else to treat them like a real contender. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Skattebo Now Carries Pressure Giants Could Not Avoid
The Giants spent the trade deadline trying to make a move that would have changed the shape of their offense, pursuing help such as Jeffery Simmons, Jonathan Taylor and Bijan Robinson before coming up empty. Instead, they stayed put and head into the stretch run with Cam Skattebo still positioned as the primary running back, a role that has taken on added weight with Tyrone Tracy Jr. on injured reserve and Devin Singletary also in the mix.
So the pressure shifts back to the rookie and the offense around him, with New York needing him to hold up in the games ahead while the front office looks ahead to possible offseason changes. For a team that clearly explored bigger swings before the deadline, Skattebo now sits at the center of a backfield plan that could shape how the Giants evaluate both their present and their future. [Read more 🡒]