Giants’ John Harbaugh feels fairly good about J.J. McCarthy being ready to play against Washington

New York Giants coach John Harbaugh expressed optimism Monday about quarterback J.J. McCarthy being able to play Thursday night against Washington.

“It does look like he’s going to play,” Harbaugh said on a video call with reporters. “Feel fairly good about that.”

McCarthy left the game Sunday at Philadelphia with a hip pointer and then returned to help contribute to a 19-11 victory. Teammates raved about McCarthy’s toughness for playing through pain.

“For that guy to come back in the game after getting hit like that, it shows toughness and it shows how much he loves his teammates,” cornerback Greg Newsome said afterward.

The Eagles sacked him five times, and McCarthy completed 12 of 19 passes for 127 yards. He left the sideline and went inside after getting tackled by Zack Baun in the third quarter and was replaced by Jameis Winston.

“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,” McCarthy said Sunday. “They’re going to be hungry, and we’re really excited to go get this one.”

The Giants opened as 1 1/2-point home favorites on a short turnaround against the Commanders.

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AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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