Tom Rock: Giants QB J.J. McCarthy will truly introduce himself to the fans in primetime at MetLife Stadium
Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy stands for the national anthem before a game against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 18, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Brad Penner
J.J. McCarthy has already done a lot as a Giant since he arrived here a little over six weeks ago. He’s won two games. He nearly led the team to a comeback victory off the bench. He’s connected with new teammates and coaches and embraced his new surroundings. He’s so entrenched in the new program that he wears white high-top cleats at practice with a blue “NY” logo stitched on the tongue.
It’s a little dorky and on the nose, but kind of charming too. Maybe it’s to remind him where he is whenever he looks down.
He’s even suffered a scary injury when he dinged his hip against the Eagles, given the most concerning sideline test of an injury since Jake Ballard when he crumpled up like a soda can while making a practice throw, and eventually made his way back into the game.
“It feels like I've been here for a while,” he said this week. “I just love every single day. Just trying to stay as present as possible and soak up every single moment here.”
Well, here comes another one.
Because, for all he has accomplished – including pulling the Giants’ season back from the brink of despair – he still has one big box to check off his New York tourist to-do list.
On Thursday night he’ll make his first start at MetLife Stadium.
He said he hadn’t thought about that until the milestone was brought up to him. Why would he? He’s already played on the field as a Giant when he relieved Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter of the Saints game nearly a month ago. Of course, by that time, most of the Giants fans had already left the building so he was technically playing in front of Saints fans. And he played there over the summer when the Vikings, his former team, were in town for the preseason opener. He didn’t start that one, but he did complete four passes for 34 yards.
He also has a load of experience playing in huge stadiums in front of massive crowds as a Big Ten quarterback at Michigan, leading them to a national championship in an undefeated season.
None of those were what this is going to be, though.
The tunnel. The introductions. The buzz of a national primetime game.
McCarthy may not have thought about it, but when he did, he couldn’t help but smile.
“I say it over and over again, I just can't thank the Giants organization and the fanbase [enough] for welcoming me,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m running out there to do my job at a high level and go get a win. That's the only thing I care about. Soak it up, but at the end of the day, it's about that first play.”
Giants fans will get a chance to soak it up, too. And not just because of the rain in the forecast. This will be their first time coming to a game knowing that McCarthy will start. And when he runs onto the field through all the lasers and smoke and pyrotechnics of the White Out theme the team has planned, it should be a WWE-level electric moment.
It’ll be a chance to say: “Welcome!”
It’ll also be a chance to say: “Thank you!”
The 23-year-old quarterback said he won’t even attempt to block out all the feels he’ll have as this game is about to start. He’ll just use them.
“You have to,” he said. “In order to really let go of those emotions, you have to accept them, let them be, and then let them go. Just being able to be real with yourself and realize they're human emotions, it's completely natural. That's when you have the ability to let them go and kind of move past them as quickly as possible. If you try to avoid them and resist them, then they just tend to linger.”
There haven’t been many athletes who have gotten both of those sentiments in the same fell swoop. Usually the new guy comes in without having proven himself to the hometown crowd yet. Think Aaron Rodgers when he made his Jets debut (or, if you are superstitious about injury jinxes, don’t). And usually when the player has accomplished something with the team significant enough to be recognized, he has already been here a bit.
McCarthy’s entrance will have the most of both worlds.
There’s also a third dynamic at play. McCarthy is here now, but will he be for the long haul? When Jaxson Dart recovers from his knee injury will McCarthy be the starter? Will he even be a Giant?
Those are problems for later. Thursday night will be about the present.
John Harbaugh got to experience a slightly similar moment in his MetLife home debut in September. That night the Giants beat the Cowboys. That night, McCarthy wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s head as Dart looked like a quarterback who was in total control of the team and its destiny. Things changed quickly the following week.
Harbaugh said he doesn’t feel like he has been in New York long enough to share with McCarthy what Thursday night will entail in terms of the hoopla and hysteria.
“Maybe someone else is better to talk to him about that,” he said, nominating Winston or Dart for the task. “Maybe I'll ask them to do that.”
But Harbaugh did have two quick thoughts on the subject.
“He'll love our fans, I can tell him that,” he said. “He's going to love our fans.”
And the second one?
“He’ll be ready.”
If he truly is, then the fans will love him too.
And if McCarthy manages to help the Giants beat Washington, he could put himself and the team in line for another unexpected first at MetLife Stadium in the near future:
A home playoff game as a division champion.
McCarthy probably hasn’t thought about that one yet, either, but if and when it is brought up to him, expect there to be more smiling all around.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
