John Harbaugh: Giants' J.J. McCarthy 'does look like he's gonna play' Thursday vs. Commanders

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Nov 9, 2026

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — J.J. McCarthy made a short warm-up throw on the sideline and crumpled down to a knee.

That’s how much pain the New York Giants quarterback was in after taking a Zack Baun shot to the hip during the third quarter of Sunday’s 19-11 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

But after missing the final 12 minutes of the third quarter due to what ESPN reported was a hip pointer, McCarthy returned for the fourth and led the Giants (5-2-1) on two crucial field-goal drives, grinding through the discomfort to leave Philly with a much-needed victory.

The Giants are optimistic McCarthy will be good to go for Thursday night’s home game against the Washington Commanders (2-5-1), too.

“He’s doing well,” head coach John Harbaugh said during a video call Monday. “We’ll find out more through the course of the day and in a couple days, but it does look like he’s gonna play. I feel fairly good about that, but I don’t want to get out over my skis with it. But it seems good so far.”

The injury occurred when McCarthy kept the ball on a read option and got tackled after a three-yard gain. Jameis Winston entered at quarterback as McCarthy went to the locker room for evaluation.

Winston engineered the Giants’ lone touchdown drive, finding tight end Isaiah Likely in the end zone with 2:25 left in the third to put the Giants up 13-8.

McCarthy then did the rest, beginning with a scoring drive to open the fourth quarter in which he scrambled for 11 yards on third-and-10 — a run that left him hopping in pain on the sideline after he converted.

“We weren’t pushing him back out there,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “He was able to play, but he insisted on playing. Even at the end, we thought about putting Jameis [Winston] in there for the last drive, and he insisted on being out there. It says a lot about him.”

The short week complicates the situation a bit for the NFC East-leading Giants and McCarthy, who said after Sunday’s victory over the Eagles (2-7) that he felt “good.”

“At the end of the day, it’s a physical game, and a lot of guys are banged up,” McCarthy said. “But we’re going to do our best to make sure we turn over as fast as possible.”

Thursday marks another critical game against a beatable opponent for the playoff-hopeful Giants, who still have tough foes in the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions remaining on their schedule.

McCarthy said he and the team will “do whatever we can between now and then and make sure we’re as close to 100%” for Thursday’s game.

“Football is a physical game, and I can’t thank the training staff enough for helping me get back on the field as fast as possible,” McCarthy said Sunday. “But yeah, it’s feeling pretty good.”

An NCAA champion under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, the 23-year-old McCarthy was the No. 10 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.

Injuries and inconsistency doomed McCarthy’s tenure with the Vikings, who traded him to the Giants in late September for a fifth-round pick, shortly after starting quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Since replacing Winston as the Giants’ starter, the dual threat McCarthy is 2-0.

In four appearances with the Giants, McCarthy has completed 63.2% of his passes for 622 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He’s also rushed for 51 yards on nine carries.

“At the end of the day,” McCarthy said, “I’ve just got to protect myself and do a better job of doing that.”

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