On Sunday, the New York Giants will take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
It will mark quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first start with the Giants against a division rival. McCarthy is coming off a strong first start against the Houston Texans, in which he led New York to an overtime victory.
McCarthy, who struggled during his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings after being drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, turned heads against the Texans; however, a former Eagles Pro Bowl quarterback still isn’t sold on the young quarterback.
Donovan McNabb Shares Blunt Message on New York Giants Quarterback J.J. McCarthy
Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb appeared with Kay Adams on Up & Adams and gave his thoughts on New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy, saying, “Where he was drafted (10th overall), I thought it was a stretch. It’s the same stretch that the Giants went with Daniel Jones in drafting him so high (6th overall). Now, he [McCarthy] was in a system, kind of a West Coast system, where he was asked to manage the game at Michigan. He had a great running game, utilized the quick game and intermediate game, and the thing that kind of boosted him was his mobility—his ability to get outside the pocket and scramble when needed.”
McNabb added a blunt assessment, saying, “Now, he looks efficient when he’s connecting on slants or hitches or maybe quick outs or curls, and he occasionally might get a deep ball up the middle versus Cover 2 or something like that, and everyone’s like, ‘he’s rolling.’ But until you start to blitz him and stop the run—when you stop the run and start blitzing him, you force the ball to stay in his hands so he has to make decisions. That’s when you’ll see the J.J. McCarthy that we’ve seen throughout his first couple of years in Minnesota.”
Reaction to McNabb’s Comments on J.J. McCarthy
Regarding McNabb’s assessment of McCarthy, Giants Wire’s Tyler Henry wrote: “The comparison of the draft-day reach to Daniel Jones is ironic, considering McCarthy is now playing for the franchise that drafted Jones back in 2019—and the same franchise that passed on McCarthy at sixth overall in 2024 in favor of Malik Nabers. However, with head coach John Harbaugh now in place, the Giants are looking to maximize McCarthy’s strengths.
McCarthy, who was brought in to run an offense closer to what the team had envisioned coming into the season with Jaxson Dart, didn’t show much of his mobility in his first start.
He looked calm and seemed to have control of the offense in his first game as the Giants’ starter. However, that may be a different story this week at Lincoln Financial Field against a stingy Eagles defense, which may prove to be a bigger test for McCarthy than the matchup he faced in his first start.”
In five quarters with the New York Giants, McCarthy has gone 31-for-49 with 495 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. His 60.5 QBR is a massive improvement from the 35.6 QBR he posted in 10 starts with the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikings, McCarthy threw more interceptions than touchdowns.
Giants QB J.J. McCarthy Handed Blunt Message by Ex-Eagles Pro Bowl QB