J.J. McCarthy gets latest Giants road test in Philadelphia house of horrors

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.  Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.“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 a...