The New York Giants have made their decision at quarterback ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Houston Texans. On Wednesday, the team named JJ McCarthy its starter. McCarthy is the former early first-round pick the Giants acquired in a midseason trade after losing Jaxson Dart.

With McCarthy under center instead of Jameis Winston, the Giants’ offense will look very different. Admittedly, I didn’t want McCarthy to start after Winston played well against the Cowboys, but McCarthy changed my mind with how he performed against the Saints.

JJ McCarthy was always going to play for the Giants

Regardless of timing, McCarthy would see the field at some point. New York didn’t spend a fifth-round pick, a relatively valuable asset, just to add another backup. If he sat the entire season, it would mean he performed poorly in practice.

Instead, the flashes he showed sped up the process. The Giants invested in McCarthy to figure out what they have, both this season and for the long term.

This was the far more intriguing option. The safe choice was Winston. He has a long NFL career, he’s been part of this locker room for multiple years, and he’s respected as a leader. While his ceiling isn’t high, he provides a relative floor because he knows how to command an offense and lead a group on and off the field.

We don’t know what McCarthy is for the Giants. He’s only been here a few weeks, and he was well below average with the Minnesota Vikings. Outside of about a quarter of tremendous play against the Saints, there isn’t much else to go on. That’s not a big enough sample to justify him as a long-term starter.

Houston’s defense is a brutal first test

McCarthy is being thrown into the fire. The Texans might be 2-4, but they’re a good team that faced a tough schedule early and are coming off an impressive win over the Jaguars in London.

Houston sees this game as a chance to stack wins against a hobbled Giants team dealing with injuries across the board. Facing a new quarterback gives the Texans a chance to get after him, force turnovers, and reestablish their identity on defense.

This defense is loaded with elite talent, headlined by Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr., and Derek Stingley Jr. A number of strong offenses have tested it, but it’s one of the league’s deepest, most well-rounded units and could ascend down the stretch.

The numbers paint a mixed picture. The Texans rank 21st in EPA per pass allowed but 10th in EPA per rush allowed, so expect them to take away the run and force McCarthy to win from the pocket. They aren’t a heavy blitzing team either. That means he’ll have to read the field against a secondary without extra rushers in his face.

However, that doesn’t mean he won’t be pressured. Houston ranks seventh in pressures and eighth in sack percentage because its defensive line is stacked with premier players.

This is as tough a task as it gets for McCarthy, and you should take his performance with a grain of salt. If he has a meltdown, it would be ridiculous and hasty to immediately go back to Winston. I wanted to ease McCarthy in after the bye week because you can’t jockey back and forth every week. Now that it’s his job, the Giants have to live with the uncertainty and hope he gives a lackluster offense some pop.

Can McCarthy jump-start the Giants’ run game?

The thing I’m most focused on is whether McCarthy can create something for a rushing attack that has been abysmal. The running back rotation is also in flux. New York just released Najee Harris, who didn’t do much despite plenty of touches.

Meanwhile, Cam Skattebo is coming off a game with no carries. Does he return to RB1 after the message about fumbling and consistency? Does Tyrone Tracy Jr. get more opportunities, especially in space as a receiver?

Most importantly, will the Giants bring back what they tried with Dart in Week 1? They leaned on misdirection, counters, and bootlegs that had Dart faking the handoff and rolling to the opposite side of the field. Those concepts put the Cowboys’ defense on its heels and let Skattebo pound the ball inside.

I’d expect a lot more of that and fewer of the clunky package plays that derailed the offense when McCarthy came on in spurts. I’ll be disappointed if they don’t expand the rushing attack now that they have a mobile quarterback again. I still believe Dart is a much better overall quarterback than McCarthy, but using McCarthy as a designed runner, not just a scrambler, could get something rolling.

Hopefully, the Giants lean on McCarthy’s legs on Sunday, because that’s their best chance to find a spark against Houston.