Film review: J.J. McCarthy looked like the real deal vs. Houston

The New York Giants traveled to Houston to defeat the Texans 27-21 in quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first start as a New York Giant. McCarthy went 20 of 28 for 252 yards, while suffering three sacks. He was calm, poised, understood where to go with the football, and his arm talent shone in the Lone Star State.

McCarthy didn’t use his legs, but the threat of his legs allowed Matt Nagy to effectively run concepts out of different formations that made McCarthy’s athletic ability a threat to the defense. Read defenders had to remain disciplined off the zone-read, lest McCarthy break contain with his speed and burst. The Giants’ run game, also, was much more physical at the point of attack, and the overall rushing attack accepted and thrived when challenged by John Harbaugh last week.

Nevertheless, McCarthy’s presence helped make the offense multidimensional, allowing them to total 420 yards of total offense. McCarthy had two 40+ yard plays in the first quarter, and his velocity, ball placement, and ability to access all areas of the field were massive assets for Matt Nagy and the Giants’ offense.

McCarthy had several high-level throws in the game. Here are six of them below.

Q1, 6:59, First-and-10

The Giants got aggressive after picking up a crucial fourth-and-short on a Darnell Mooney jet sweep at the Houston 47 yard line:

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

The Giants confirm the middle-of-the-field-closed, Cover-1 look post-snap, and McCarthy rips a beautifully placed back-shoulder pass to Malik Nabers outside the numbers. McCarthy held the safety in place well, creating an easy one-on-one matchup post-snap. Still, the outside ball placement allowed the elite receiver to adjust his body, locate, and secure the pass, which set up the Tyrone Tracy Jr. touchdown.

Q1, 4:05, Second-and-17

On the first play of the next drive, J.J. McCarthy (18) drove a dime to Malachi Fields (88) that the rookie receiver took for 47 yard:

The ball jumps out of McCarthy’s hand with excellent velocity and ball-placement; he hit Fields in stride and allowed the big receiver to walk the tightrope up the sideline. It appears to be quarter-quarter-half coverage and Fields pressed to the midline of the numbers before exploding outside. The cornerback does a solid speed turn, but the ball placement and timing were too perfect from McCarthy. 

Q2, 6:52, Second-and-10 

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

McCarthy found Nabers for 17 yards after evading a free rusher in the pocket. I appreciate how the young quarterback navigated the pocket but kept his eyes downfield to find Nabers on the dig route. Space was cleared by Darnell Mooney (17) and Jalin Hyatt’s (81) vertical routes vs. Cover-4.

The dig was open in the middle of the field, but the vertical routes were both isolated in single coverage, both with a leverage advantage. It was a great call by the coaches, but McCarthy’s movement, throw, and ability to rip it off platform are all noteworthy.

Q2, :29, First-and-10

McCarthy gets the Giants in field goal range with an elite throw. This throw, however, was with an expiring clock at the end of the first half:

McCarthy was under pressure but fired the deep corner route against man. The accuracy was so precise that it allowed Nabers to secure the 27-yard pass and get out of bounds. Houston ran a successful T/E twist that got pressure but McCarthy stood strong in the pocket and delivered a pass that got the Giants into Houston’s part of the field. Zvada attempted a 44-yard field goal that was missed.

Q3, 12:42, Third-and-4

This is an exceptional play by McCarthy that went for 20 yards to Fields along the sideline. Nagy dialed up a high-low with Devin Singletary (26) and Fields, and McCarthy held the underneath defender with his eyes before delivering a 20 yard pass to Fields along the sideline. His eyes allowed his arm to make this throw.

Q4, 9:36, Third-and-9

This was an exceptional conversion by J.J. McCarthy, who delivered a far-hash rocket to Fields for a first down. The Texans paid attention to Isaiah Likely (9) on the underneath play, and the Cover-3 leverage was off and slightly to the inside. Fields ran a route and McCarthy delivered a good pass that hit the outside hip of Fields – move the sticks!

Bonus play

This is just an unreal arm talent throw by McCarthy, who recognized the lapse in coverage and gave Darnell Mooney a chance from the far hash to make a play. Mooney is open a lot; it’ll break right for him soon, but securing footballs like this would be an excellent start. 

Here’s a highlight reel from McCarthy, including a few plays that were not elaborated on above:

Final thoughts

The Giants were 10.5 point road underdogs with a young – new – quarterback, who was labeled a bust by his previous team. Yet, J.J. McCarthy answered the call and helped the Giants win an important game before the BYE week. The NFC East is up for grabs and the Giants sit in first place. Moving to McCarthy seemed to unlock the Giants’ ability to play multifaceted on offense, while giving the team a much higher ceiling than Jameis Winston. There’s an excitement around the Meadowlands – and it’s understandable!