Overview
- The Giants elevated J.J. McCarthy to starter and he led a 27-21 overtime road win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, completing 20 of 28 passes for 252 yards while avoiding turnovers.
- New York traded a 2027 fifth-round pick for McCarthy after starter Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury, leaving McCarthy and veteran Jameis Winston as the team’s active quarterbacks.
- Jameis Winston publicly backed McCarthy after the switch, praising the locker-room momentum the win created and accepting his shift to a backup role.
- General manager Joe Schoen called the quarterback room strong and said the club views the McCarthy acquisition as an affordable, short-term evaluation with upside rather than a long-term guarantee.
- The Giants enter a bye week with a 4-2-1 record and will further test McCarthy in a November divisional matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, a stretch that could shape next season’s quarterback competition and prompt scrutiny of Minnesota’s decision to trade him.