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PHILADELPHIA — Life on the road is usually not easy. It has never really bothered J.J. McCarthy.
He listed Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State as the most hostile places he ever visited as the Michigan quarterback, calling them “really the big three.’’ Then he narrowed down that list to single out the most challenging road venue.
“I’d have to say The Horseshoe, for sure,’’ McCarthy he said.
McCarthy started one game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus and beat the Buckeyes 45-23 during the 2022 season. He tossed three touchdown passes. McCarthy, in his first start for the Giants, won in Houston, beating the Texans 27-21 in overtime.
Next, the Giants play the Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, where they have not won since 2013. Consider it the most difficult environment for the Giants to deal with on the road.
“He’s been in huge games,’’ coach John Harbaugh said of McCarthy. “He’s been in the biggest games in front of the biggest crowds in college football. And he’s also done not just that, he did it also in the NFL too. So yeah, he’s been there before. That’s not going to be an issue. The issue is going to be the Eagles, and the issue is going to be us, how we operate, how we play, how we execute. That’s really the thing he’s going to be concerning himself with. The exterior stuff is not going to be a factor.’’
McCarthy in 2025 started and won games for the Vikings in Chicago, Detroit and Dallas. He did not sound worried about the noise and venom at the Linc.
“It’s all about us and how we execute the football plays,’’ he said. “Obviously, it gets very loud, but the preparation throughout the week, the nonverbal communication is just a huge key in any environment, but especially on the road in loud crowd environments. But at the end of the day, it’s just about executing those ball plays and not worrying about anything else.’’
RB Saquon Barkley will play despite hamstring and back issues that forced him to miss two games and limited his snaps the past two games. He has yet to gain more than 83 yards in a game this season but is averaging 4.9 yards on his 56 rushing attempts.
“Oh, he’s an elusive dude, man,’’ Harbaugh said. “I mean, they’re one of the league leaders in making tacklers miss. I’m pretty sure he’s a big part of that, and that’s just what he does.
“He’s a threat catching the ball out of the backfield, checkdowns, things like that. So, all hands on deck when he’s out there.’’
The demise of the Eagles (2-6) includes a defense that has not lived up to its advance billing. They are 27th in total defense, 30th against the run, and 28th against the pass and 27th in scoring defense. Still, there are formidable players at every level, including Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis up front and Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean on the back end.
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“Still a really good Vic Fangio defense,’’ guard Jon Runyan Jr. told The Possaidt. “They have really good players everywhere. I’m not gonna comment on what’s going on over there. Some people will say they’re underperforming, but they’re a really talented defense. A lot of the same exact guys they had the last couple of years are still around, very young and talented.’’
The Giants made a series of moves Saturday.
They added three players for Sunday’s game from their practice squad: WR Jalin Hyatt, RB Phil Mafah and OLB Dawuane Smoot. They also re-signed QB Jake Haener to the practice squad.
