Giants expect McCarthy to play
Coach John Harbaugh says the quarterback is likely to start Thursday night against Washington, with the running back Cam Skattebo also expected to return.
By Nikolai Morales ·
New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy is expected to start Thursday night against the Washington Commanders, according to head coach John Harbaugh. The Giants also plan to have running back Cam Skattebo available for the game at MetLife Stadium.
McCarthy suffered a hip pointer on the second play of the second half in Sunday's 19-11 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He took a hard hit from Eagles linebacker Zack Baun and missed most of the third quarter. The Giants' offense struggled on the ground, averaging only 2.6 yards per carry against Philadelphia.
McCarthy was traded from the Minnesota Vikings earlier this season. He has started the last two games for New York, which defeated the Houston Texans and the Eagles during that span. In the win over Philadelphia, he completed 12 of 19 passes for 127 yards. He was sacked five times and did not throw for a touchdown.
Harbaugh said on a video call that McCarthy is doing well. "We'll find out more through the course of the day and couple days," Harbaugh said. "But it does look like he's going to play. Feel fairly good about that, but I don't want to get over my skis with it. But it seems good so far."
McCarthy said after the game that he feels good and is ready to compete. "I feel good," he said. "At the end of the day, [as] I said, it's a physical game, and a lot of guys are banged up, but we're going to do our best to make sure we turn over as fast as possible and do whatever we can between now and then and make sure we're as close to 100% leading up to a great opponent against Washington."
Skattebo has been dealing with a hamstring injury since the overtime win over the Texans. He missed practice all last week and was listed as doubtful for Sunday's game. The Giants decided not to risk his health. "He was very close," Harbaugh said. "We just decided not to take the risk that would go with it. There were some things that were going to be limited just a little bit maybe, and we decided not to go down that road because of the short week this week. He should be full-go on Thursday night."
Devin Singletary started at running back in Skattebo's absence on Sunday. He carried the ball 21 times for 31 yards. Greg Desrosiers Jr., signed from the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad one week ago, also received carries. The Giants had previously been linked to Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, but the Colts have taken their offer off the table. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The Giants currently hold a 5-2-1 record. They have already beaten the Dallas Cowboys and the Eagles this season. They tied the Commanders in their first meeting. A win Thursday would give them a commanding lead in the NFC East.
