J.J. McCarthy confirmed he will start on Thursday night against the Washington Commanders, his first home game as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback and his first short week in the league.
He said he feels fully recovered after Sunday’s physical game in Philadelphia left him with a hip injury.
“I feel really good. Obviously, Sunday, it’s football, it’s a physical game, but just credit to the athletic training staff, getting me back to feeling really good as quick as possible,” McCarthy told reporters.
McCarthy played through visible pain on a sideline throw and chose to stay in rather than rest ahead of the quick turnaround. He framed the decision simply.
“The importance is to be out there as much as I possibly can. No matter what happens,
no matter what narratives one can draw, it’s being out there with my brothers and doing whatever I can to help the team be successful,” he said.
Asked about running out at MetLife Stadium for the first time as the starter, McCarthy said he had not focused on the moment until the question was raised. His priority remains the work itself.
“I haven’t thought about it until now, but I’m just so blessed to be a part of this team. I say it over and over again, and I just can’t thank the Giants organization and the fanbase for welcoming me," he said. "At the end of the day, it’s running out there to do my job at a high level and go get a win on Thursday night. That’s the only thing I care about, so just being able to embrace that, soak it up, but at the end of the day, it’s about that first play.”
He described a deliberate approach to the emotions that come with the occasion.
“You have to. 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," McCarthy noted. "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.”
Off the field, McCarthy is working to tighten timing with the skill-position players through constant conversation.
“Getting to know them on and off the field, just really talking with them in the locker room, just really understanding their perspective when they’re running the routes, ‘hey, what did you see here, how did that feel,’ and just kind of overdoing the communication," he said. "Obviously, getting the reps on the field as well, but really just talking to them as much as possible.”
Those three priorities—recovery, emotional control, and daily communication—frame how McCarthy is preparing for his first short-week start at home.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants’ J.J. McCarthy ready for short-week home debut vs. Commanders
