On Sunday, the 4-2-1 New York Giants will take on the 2-6 Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
The game will be J.J. McCarthy’s second start since being traded to the Giants earlier this season. It will also be McCarthy’s first time experiencing a game between NFC East rivals.
Few could have envisioned this scenario playing out when the season began. After Week 1, the franchise revolved around Jaxson Dart, who had just played a very impressive game against the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys. One week later, Dart suffered a season-ending injury, and the Giants were in the quarterback market.
They then acquired J.J. McCarthy in exchange for a fifth-round pick, as the former first-round quarterback had been relegated to third-string quarterback in Minnesota after losing the quarterback competition to Kyler Murray.
When asked about McCarthy, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio described the trade as a “steal” for the Giants.
Eagles Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio Sends Strong Message on J.J. McCarthy
Regarding the New York Giants adding J.J. McCarthy, legendary defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said, “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.”
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra wrote: “McCarthy has played just six quarters for the Giants, but was very impressive in the Week 7 overtime victory over the Houston Texans, generating 252 yards on 20-of-28 passing. McCarthy looked much more confident and accurate than at any time in Minnesota.
The question for the NFC East-leading Giants is whether the QB’s play in New York is replicable or whether it’s simply a small sample and he’ll revert to the same inconsistent passer we saw in Minnesota.”
Reaction to Fangio’s Comments
The New York Post’s Matt Ehalt wrote of Fangio’s comments: “It’s certainly far too early to grade a trade, but the Giants sending the Vikings a fifth-round pick for McCarthy represented a a potential low-cost, high-reward trade.
A fifth-round pick shouldn’t make or break an organization, and McCarthy living up to his draft pedigree would make the move a home run for Big Blue. If McCarthy can keep producing those type of performances, the Giants (4-2-1) have a real chance to win the division for the first time since the 2011 season.
However, that’s obviously a big “if” considering the inconsistency that plagued McCarthy in Minnesota last season and factored into its decision to trade him.”
Fangio’s comments come at an interesting time, as the Philadelphia Eagles are dealing with their own quarterback troubles. On Sunday, Philadelphia will start Joe Milton, who was a member of the Dallas Cowboys during training camp but failed to make their active roster and was later claimed by the Eagles. Milton will replace Tanner McKee, who struggled in the three games since Jalen Hurts was ruled out for the season.
Eagles Coach Sends Strong 1-Word Message to Giants QB J.J. McCarthy