Eagles' Vic Fangio believes Giants' trade with Vikings for J.J. McCarthy was a 'steal'

This coming Sunday's game between the 4-2-1 New York Giants and the 2-6 Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field will feature a battle of quarterbacks who weren't atop depth charts on Labor Day.

While the Eagles are starting backup Tanner McKee with Jalen Hurts sidelined through the rest of this season (blood clots), the Giants only acquired current QB1 J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick in late September. On Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio suggested the Giants will be seen as the big winners of the McCarthy trade. 

Eagles' Vic Fangio impressed by how J.J. McCarthy has thus far played with Giants

"They’ve got it going right now," Fangio said about the Giants, per Johnny McGonigal of PennLive. "They’ve got good wideouts, good tight ends, two good backs. And the quarterback has come in, in a short period of time, and really done a nice job. For them, to get him for a [fifth-round pick] is a steal." 

McCarthy initially replaced a benched Jameis Winston against the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 18 and then went 11-of-21 passing for 243 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The following Sunday, McCarthy started for the Giants at the Houston Texans and completed 20-of-28 passes for 252 yards with no turnovers as he helped Big Blue earn a 27-21 overtime win.

Vic Fangio ready to go up against unique Giants offense

Long before John Harbaugh became the head coach of the Giants this past winter, he held that role with the Baltimore Ravens from 2008 through the 2025 season. Current Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy previously served as the Kansas City Chiefs' OC on multiple occasions, and Giants senior offensive assistant Greg Roman spent time as the Ravens' offensive coordinator under Harbaugh.

"They’ve got a lot of the Ravens-type offense that they had when Greg Roman was there," Fangio added about the Giants. "And they’ve intermixed Kansas City-type passing with Matt." 

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Giants as 3.5-point road favorites over an Eagles team that could part ways with multiple players ahead of the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline.