Giants expect injured starter to play Thursday

New York Giants fans can expect their starting quarterback and primary running back to take the field Thursday night. Coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Monday that both J.J. McCarthy and Cam Skattebo are on track to play in the matchup against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium.

McCarthy suffered a hip pointer during the Giants' 19-11 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He missed the majority of the third quarter after absorbing a hard hit but returned to the game to help close out the win. Skattebo missed the entire contest due to a hamstring injury. The back strained that muscle on one of the final plays of an overtime win over the Houston Texans before the team's bye week.

The Giants acquired McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings earlier this season. He has started two games for New York and the team is 2-0 in those contests. Skattebo has been a key part of the rushing attack, which averaged just 2.6 yards per carry against Philadelphia. His absence forced the team to rely on other options on the ground.

Harbaugh expressed confidence in McCarthy's recovery on a video call with reporters. "He's doing well," Harbaugh said. "We'll find out more through the course of the day and couple days. But it does look like he's going to play. Feel fairly good about that, but I don't want to get over my skis with it. But it seems good so far."

McCarthy also spoke to the media following Sunday's game. "I feel good," McCarthy said. "At the end of the day, [as] I said, it's a physical game, and a lot of guys are banged up, but we're going to do our best to make sure we turn over as fast as possible and do whatever we can between now and then and make sure we're as close to 100% leading up to a great opponent against Washington."

Harbaugh explained that the coaching staff made the difficult decision to rest Skattebo on Sunday to avoid further risk during a short week. "He was very close. We just decided not to take the risk that would go with it," Harbaugh said. "There were some things that were going to be limited just a little bit maybe, and we decided not to go down that road because of the short week this week. He should be full-go on Thursday night."

Devin Singletary started at running back in Skattebo's place and carried the ball 21 times for 31 yards. Greg Desrosiers Jr., who was signed from the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad one week prior, also saw time with the ball. The Giants have been linked to Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, but New York recently removed their offer from consideration. The trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

The Giants currently hold a 5-2-1 record. A win Thursday would secure a commanding lead in the NFC East. They already defeated the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys this season and tied the Commanders in their first meeting.