Vikings GM expects McCarthy on the Week 1 roster

In other words, it wasn’t exactly an endorsement that Jaxson Dart is the franchise quarterback. Dart, out for the year with a meniscus repair, will enter the third year of his rookie contract as the likely favorite to start assuming Nine hasn’t just blossomed into a great quarterback overnight. But it sounds like the Giants are at least open to the idea that McCarthy could alter the calculus here.

Minnesota’s offensive ineptitude has reached stunning levels in recent weeks, including last Sunday against the Colts, when Murray had 150 yards and a touchdown while completing 58 percent of his pass attempts. “We’ll continue to get better,” Murray said Sunday night. “I know we will. I know we keep saying that, but I felt like we moved the ball well (against the Colts). We’ve just got to put the ball in the end zone.” The Vikings, who rank 25th in pass rate over expected this season, have operated conservatively on offense while their defense dismantles opponents week in and week out. As Lewis pointed out, the 2026 Vikings are the first team in a century to win five straight games with five or fewer TDs over that span. Murray through Week 7 ranks 28th out of 40 qualifying QBs in EPA per pass attempt and 33rd in fantasy points per drop back.

Nine threatened a really good box score, crossing 200 yards by the third quarter, but both the Texans (playing more aggressive coverage) and the Giants (using Jameis Winston in short-yardage situations) conspired to keep McCarthy scoreless. Still, it was a nice debut start. McCarthy took three sacks but had zero turnovers while managing a handful of nice throws. The Giants head on bye in Week 8, but McCarthy has played like he could be a reasonable superflex QB2 against the Eagles in a few weeks.

The Giants pivoted to “NINE” after he lit up the Saints for 243 yards in the fourth quarter of Week 6. Having already spent some draft capital to acquire McCarthy, the team is going to give him an extended tryout as the starter. If he does well, the Giants will likely hang on to him as Jaxson Dart’s backup next year. They could also trade him in the offseason if he plays well to garner interest from other teams.

According to Hughes, “this is the player they targeted and wanted” as their quarterback the minute Jaxson Dart (knee) got hurt. Hughes acknowledges that coach John Harbaugh could eventually bench McCarthy later in the year, but it will take more than a bad “game or two” for that to happen. In the meantime, the weekly fantasy football outlooks for Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely are more volatile than they were with Jameis Winston at the helm. Selling high could make sense. Hughes adds that McCarthy would have to play like a top-10 quarterback to make the coaching staff consider him for the starting role next season. That outcome seems highly unlikely.

John Harbaugh is making the switch after a historic fourth quarter from “NINE”. McCarthy threw for 243 yards and a score in 11 minutes of action as the Giants mounted a frantic comeback against the Saints. Though he came up short in the end, McCarthy gave the Giants’ offense life after three dreadful quarters from James Winston. Now he’ll get the first snap versus a Houston defense that has been surprisingly ineffective this year. McCarthy is a high-risk QB2 for his first start as a Giant. He should at least be added in all Superflex formats.

The fact that he has to think about it probably tips the hand that it will be J.J. McCarthy sooner or later — if not outright now. Jameis Winston was replaced by McCarthy in the fourth quarter yesterday and McCarthy showcased his deep arm and almost erased a large deficit by throwing for 243 yards on 21 attempts. If McCarthy did start against the Texans, he would likely be a bottom five superflex option on the Week 7 slate because of his established history as a starter.

It’s the exact kind of answer we would expect from a coach who is just minutes removed from his team nearly completing a comeback victory. J.J. McCarthy stepped in for Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter and lit up the Saints for 243 yards and one touchdown in the fourth quarter, leading the Giants on three scoring drives and 17 unanswered points in a game that the Saints won 34-27. Whether it’s in Week 7 or a point later in the season, McCarthy feels like a lock to start multiple games for the Giants, who now sit at 3-2-1 on the season. The Jameis Winston Experience, while fun, is often short-lived, and his underwhelming performance on Sunday against the Saints (152-1-2) comes a week after Winston struggled for the entire first half against the Commanders before he turned it on in the second half. Harbaugh will likely announce his Week 7 starter in the coming days, but it wouldn’t be surprising to learn the team is handing McCarthy the keys for the remainder of the season.

McCarthy’s first play of the game was a read-option where he kept the ball and rushed for a loss of two yards in the red zone. With the Giants down 24 points in the fourth quarter, McCarthy replaced a struggling Jameis Winston and started throwing several deep targets downfield. He threw an interception his first drive but led multiple successful drives late in the fourth quarter. Charlie Jones corralled a 49-yard pass away from a defender, making a near-interception into a long completion for McCarthy. Martin Emerson dropped an interception later in the drive before McCarthy connected with Isaiah Likely for a touchdown. He wound up leading the Giants in passing and rushing through just one quarter of play. Averaging 11.6 yards per attempt, McCarthy was one play away from leading a comeback against the Saints. Instead, we will wait to see if John Harbaugh will name the 23-year-old the starter for Week 7 against the Texans; he would be a fantasy QB2 if he starts.

Who is asking for this? McCarthy was on the field for three plays in Week 5. They gained three yards, two of which came from McCarthy on a pair of rush attempts. After flaming out as a traditional quarterback in Minnesota, McCarthy is working his way toward becoming the next Taysom Hill. Jameis Winston remains the starter, but Harbaugh will use McCarthy as a change-of-pace option a few times each week. He could also take over as the starter if Winston struggles for an extended period of time, though we appear to be at least a few weeks away from that being a consideration.