JJ McCarthy played the best game of his NFL career against the Houston Texans on Sunday. He did not wear his signature eyeblack for only the fourth time since 2021.
It was not a coincidence!
There is a method to McCarthy’s madness and it dates back to high school. His college rivalry carried over to the NFL.
JJ McCarthy turned into Nine.
Although the Texans’ record is not very good, the Giants have not been that much better. Sunday was an opportunity to make a statement. JJ McCarthy made his first start for New York after being traded from Minnesota. He was outstanding.
The former No. 10 overall pick channeled his alter ego, Nine, and led his new team to victory.
McCarthy completed 20 of his 28 pass attempts for 252 yards. Houston did not have an answer for Malik Nabers, who finished with seven catches for 111 yards. Eight different players recorded a catch. The Giants beat the Texans by six in overtime.
— Performances (@NotPerformances) October 25, 2026
McCarthy did not throw a touchdown pass, but he led the offense into the red zone and the running backs would take it from there. Jameis Winston also vultured his opportunity to score a rushing touchdown on a quarterback sneak.
You could not ask for a better day from McCarthy and it resulted in a win!
J.J. McCarthy’s locker-room speech after beating the #Texans in his first start with the #Giants:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 25, 2026
This team is fully behind him.
(📽️ @Giants) pic.twitter.com/4I88M5VjSS
Don’t look now but New York has a two-game lead in the NFC East! Can McCarthy lead the Giants back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022? We’ll see. Sunday was a huge step forward for a quarterback that most people counted out.
He did not wear eyeblack against former Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud.
JJ McCarthy has worn eyeblack throughout his entire football career, dating back to middle school. He wore the eyeblack in high school….
He wore the eyeblack at Michigan….
And in Minnesota…
McCarthy also wore the eyeblack for the first few games with the New York Giants…
That was not the case on Sunday. McCarthy ditched the eyeblack for only the fourth time since high school, if not middle school, if not elementary school. There was a reason for the decision. It stems from his time in Ann Arbor.
Ohio State recruited McCarthy out of his school and promised him that it would not add another quarterback in the same recruiting class. McCarthy even admitted in 2023 that he grew up as a fan of the Buckeyes.
And then he was lied to and everything changed. It was a lot like when Syndrome gets snubbed by Mr. Incredible.
Ryan Day and Ohio State accepted a commitment from Kyle McCord in the same recruiting class as McCarthy. McCarthy did not appreciate how he was treated by his dream school and pledged to Michigan just a few weeks later.
“Coach Day told me he wasn’t going to take (a 2021 quarterback) until the end of summer or anything like that because he wanted to make sure everything was all good […] I get it’s a business, but it always sucks being lied to. And that’s kind of where the rivalry started for me. And the hatred. But what are you going to do? It’s a business and they have to do what they have to do. They lied to my face, but it’s all good now.”
McCarthy said he wanted to “kill” the Buckeyes. He went 3-0 against them as the starting quarterback for the Wolverines.
He also did not wear eyeblack in any of those three games so Ryan Day and Ohio State had to look him in the eyes.
New York played in Houston on Sunday. Texans quarterback CJ Stroud played at Ohio State. McCarthy did not wear the eyeblack.
The Giants play the Eagles next weekend. Philadelphia quarterback Tanner McKee played at Stanford. Will McCarthy go back to the eyeblack? We’ll have to wait and see…