J.J. McClickbait (Plz Like, Share and Subscribe)

Jaxson Dart is the New York Giants quarterback of the future. Jameis Winston was the Giants quarterback of the past month. But J.J. McCarthy is their quarterback of the present.

Sweet lede. Lots of searchable keywords. Emphatic take. This f***er’s goin’ viral. Tommy-DeVito’s-mom’s-chicken-cutlet-recipe-tier viral.

McCarthy, a former National Champion at Michigan, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft and the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Week in Week 1 of 2025, gives the Giants their best chance to win the NFC East in 2026. Sure, the Giants suck like a Hoover vacuum hooked up to a Chevy Big Block 396 engine. But the Cowboys and Eagles suck like the vacuum of space. And the Commanders suck so hard that they tied the Giants in Week 5.

McCarthy entered Sunday’s Giants loss after Winston threw two interceptions to help the Saints mount a 34-10 fourth-quarter lead. McCarthy immediately energized the Giants offense with a 19-yard pass to Devin Singletary. Actually, it was a swing pass into the right flat that Singletary turned into a 19-yard gain. That’s how energized the offense was. 

McCarthy’s second pass landed near Charlie Jones’ feet. His third sailed out of bounds. His fourth was a pinpoint delivery to Martin Emerson. Emerson is a Saints cornerback, but admit it: you have trouble keeping track of the receivers on the Giants bench too, don’t you? I mean, seriously: Charlie Jones? Didn’t he make Bugs Bunny cartoons?

Under normal circumstances, Emerson’s interception would have all but ended the game. But the Saints are perennial doormats. The Giants play nothing but perennial doormats these days, as if all of their quality opponents joined the B1G, leaving them with nothing but a schedule full of Titans and Cardinals. They aren't scheduled to face an opponent that currently has more than two wins until the Jaguars in Week 11.

Some Saints rando named CJ Donaldson fumbled the ball straight back to the Giants. And McCarthy isn’t the type of fierce competitor who will let a second chance on his second team in his third NFL season slip away.

McCarthy took the reins of the Giants offense and immediately handed off twice for five yards. The two runs ticked over a minute off the clock. It was as if John Harbaugh had conceded the loss. But McCarthy would not allow the coach or his teammates to surrender. He overthrew Malachi Fields along the right sideline on third down, shrewdly drawing a pass interference penalty.

Then McCarthy threw a 27-yard pass to a leaping Malik Nabers. It was a dime. It was a dart. Why do all lazy metaphors for passes sound like references to other Giants quarterbacks? One short completion and one near-interception by Emerson on a throw into double coverage in the end zone later, Tyrone Tracy ran for a touchdown. Game on, baby.

The Saints had a chance to run out the clock. But every team that faces the 2026 Giants immediately develops the time-management skills of habitual pot smokers. Tyler Shough threw a pair of incompletions in a three-and-out.

McCarthy went straight to work, launching an undercooked Chipotle burrito in the general direction of Jones. Defender Justin Reid helpfully deflected the pass into Jones’ hands. McCarthy then threw a sinkerball along the left sideline to a diving Emerson, who still plays for the Saints. Emerson appeared to intercept the pass, but he trapped the ball against the turf. 

Undaunted, McCarthy threw a touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely. It was a cutlet. A crab leg. 

McCarthy launched a 46-yarder to Nabers on the next series, after the Saints tried to find ways to add time to the clock. That pass set up a field goal. The Saints punted the ball back to the Giants with 14 seconds left on the play clock and the Giants out of timeouts after the two minute warning; if Kellen Moore tried to roast a turkey, he would die of salmonella. McCarthy scrambled up the middle for a long gain and threw completions in bounds, but he somehow ran out of time to lead a comeback.

Could Winston do what McCarthy did on Sunday? Could Winston scatter some big plays among turnovers and almost-turnovers to nearly lead a comeback against a terrible opponent? Sure, Winston did exactly that against the Commanders in Week 5, bringing the Giants back from a 27-13 deficit to force overtime. In fact, mixing splash plays with a 2-to-3 ratio to bloopers is Winston’s whole deal. But I have the attention span and short-term memory of a blue tang and am counting on you, dear reader, to be the same way. 

Wait … who was I writing about again?

The stat sheet says that McCarthy went 11-of-21 for 243 yards, one touchdown and one hand-wavable boo-boo. It doesn’t matter what the film or anyone else says.

Yes, McCarthy stunk in his first two NFL seasons. You know who else stunk in his first two seasons? Josh Allen. Have you heard of him? Are you vaguely aware of his backstory? Do you know what happened in his third season? No, I’m not gonna type it out. YOU say it. That’s right. He became awesome and stayed awesome. 

McCarthy has the potential to be even awesomer than Allen, because he was even worse than Allen in 2025. And in April through August, when he lost a Vikings quarterback competition to Kyler Murray, who plays football like a labradoodle puppy who doesn’t want to let go of a tennis ball. 

McCarthy has only spent three weeks in Harbaugh’s program learning Matt Nagy’s offense. Imagine how good he will be when he has had four weeks in the system. McCarthy is a renowned student of the game who spent three offseasons soaking up wisdom from the redoubtable Kevin O’Connell, who then had the temerity to leave his prized pupil on the curb like a couch that smelled like cat pee. McCarthy is sure to pick up Nagy’s offense quickly.

Harbaugh is rebuilding the Giants culture. And the best way to do that is to send a clear message to the locker room. Guys, I will bench any of you in a heartbeat for a one-hit wonder we brought in three weeks ago who got lucky on some turnover-worthy throws if it helps us achieve the short-term goal of stumbling into the playoffs Carolina Panthers-style. That’s how you build trust and camaraderie.

Assuming McCarthy doesn’t throw seven interceptions and get sacked nine times by the Texans in Week 7, he should have no trouble recreating the 9-7-1 glory of the 2022 Giants, the greatest Giants team anyone can remember. Then, Whammo! Dart will return in 2027. And then, Whammo! Dart will try to headbutt a truck, and guess who will be there to pick up the slack? That’s right: J.J. McCarthy. Unless the Colts sign him for four years at $160 million.

You may think McCarthy’s Week 6 success is unsustainable. You may not even consider it success. Or you may believe that Winston and McCarthy are interchangeable. You may also dimly recall that McCarthy is very injury-prone, meaning that the Giants are probably doomed to juggle turnover-happy quarterbacks for the rest of a dismal season only enlivened by the fact that their most hated rivals couldn’t buy a win at Costco with a fistful of 50-dollar bills. 

But consider this. The Giants are a huge-market team with an enormous fanbase. And McCarthy is highly clickable. He’s had boosters and bashers since his college heyday. He’s popular with the Midwestern Dad demographic. Bots and shitposters adore him. McCarthy is a cautionary tale, a feel-good story, an epic bust and a redemption story all in one. He has played so sparingly that you can craft his story any way you like. McCarthy drives web traffic, and traffic drives my industry.

So please subscribe to this newsletter, whether you agree with my utterly sincere opinions on McCarthy or not. Share this piece on every social network, especially the ones I don’t really understand, like TikTok, Reddit and Tumblr. Tumblr’s a social network, right? It’s not, like, a dating app for folks who like to have sex on top of dryers or something? Make sure that everyone who remotely cares about the Giants, Vikings or Michigan football reads this, reacts strongly to it and then forgets it when Mike McDaniel gets fired or whatever.

Jaxson Dart is the Giants quarterback of the future. Jameis Winston is their quarterback of the past. But I have reached my word count and am going to go grab a sandwich.