Giants Turn to J.J. McCarthy as Starting QB vs. Texans

J.J. McCarthy is getting the keys. The New York Giants are starting him at quarterback on Sunday against the Houston Texans, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday, after he nearly pulled off a 24-point comeback in relief of Jameis Winston.

That relief outing is the whole story. McCarthy came in during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints, threw for 243 yards, led three scoring drives and had the Giants in the red zone in the final seconds before they fell 34-27 at MetLife Stadium. It was the second-most passing yards in a fourth quarter by a quarterback who did not start over the past 25 years.

Why J.J. McCarthy won the job over Winston

Coach John Harbaugh had a real choice to make. Winston had started the previous four games in place of Jaxson Dart, who hurt a knee in Week 2, and he had steadied things with back-to-back two-touchdown games before Sunday. Then he threw for 152 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Saints and got benched. He has seven touchdown passes and five interceptions this season.

The Giants landed on McCarthy in large part because of his potential. He was the 10th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 out of Michigan, and New York traded a fifth-round pick for him three weeks ago.

Giants fans watched one quarter of McCarthy and saw an offense that finally moved. Now they get four.

The run game is part of the bet

This is not only about his arm. The Giants' running backs had 14 carries for 34 yards against New Orleans, and McCarthy led the team in rushing with 26 yards in one quarter of work.

The offense New York built in the summer was designed for Dart, with zone reads and the quarterback on the move. When Winston took over, the Giants trimmed a lot of that to fit his strengths, and the run game has struggled. McCarthy's legs let them bring it back.

"The elements that we're talking about with some of the read plays and some of the different things you do moving the quarterback around, those are definitely things that are part of the equation," Harbaugh said.

Watch the first few series in Houston. If the Giants open with read plays, that tells you exactly why Harbaugh made this call.

A tough first start in Houston

The matchup does him no favors. The Texans are third in the league with 18 sacks through five games, so McCarthy will be under pressure from the first snap. The game is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Houston, and the Giants have a bye after it before visiting the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 8.

New York is 3-2-1 and sitting in first place in a down NFC East, so this is not a panic move. It is a team in first place deciding it has a higher ceiling with the younger quarterback.

Smacktok pick: lean higher on McCarthy's rushing attempts in Houston. He already led the team on the ground in one quarter, and Harbaugh is openly talking about putting the read plays and quarterback movement back in.