# Jordan Dajani: Dajani argues that J.J. McCarthy's relief performance against the Saints was strong enough for him to take the Giants' starting quarterback job from Jameis Winston on a permanent basis.

**Claimed:** Oct 18, 2026
**Pundit:** Jordan Dajani — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/jordan-dajani
**Outlet:** CBS Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/cbs-sports
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jameis-winston-benched-giants-j-j-mccarthy-makes-debut/

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.

> This was a performance good enough for McCarthy to unseat Winston permanently.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **J.J. McCarthy to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: J.J. McCarthy, New York Giants
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- J.J. McCarthy — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/j-j-mccarthy
- New York Giants — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/giants

## What others said about the same people

- Pete Prisco on New York Giants: Prisco gives score predictions for every Week 9 NFL game, picking the Bengals to rout the Falcons in Madrid, the Cowboys to rebound at Indianapolis, and the Jaguars to win in Baltimore without Lamar Jackson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dc43909b-bc7f-47aa-b208-5cf7c95844bc (scored 85.71)
- Chris Simms on New York Giants: Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said he wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/17eb747a-90b1-472f-bb6d-e71c0c69133a (scored 95.24)
- Connor Rogers on New York Giants: Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/11646f69-18dd-4831-a7de-e4115ded875c (scored 100)
- Sam Monson on New York Giants: Monson walked through the Raiders' remaining schedule game by game, projecting losses to San Francisco, Seattle, Denver (twice) and Kansas City with wins over the Chargers, Titans and Cardinals for five to seven wins; he also said the Chiefs beat the Jets, picked the Giants to win at Philadelphia, expects the 49ers to release Brandon Aiyuk, and expects Carson Wentz to start for Minnesota. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c50f56a0-de88-4e0e-8138-841b13ff7433 (scored 100)
- Pete Prisco on New York Giants: Prisco picks the Giants to beat the Eagles late in their NFC East rivalry game, 22-20, with Philadelphia's defense playing well against J.J. McCarthy. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2d791242-6f6d-4749-b986-69dbfd7df841 (scored 85.71)
- Stephen Lebitsch on New York Giants: Lebitsch names the five remaining opponents the Giants should beat in their push for the NFC East title, ranking them from most to least challenging: the Lions, Browns, Cowboys, Eagles and Colts. He suggests New York can sweep both the Cowboys and the Eagles. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5a47df1b-c2d4-4d55-be4d-b8f60a980c1f (scored 100)

## More depth chart calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Jeremy Brener on Jalen Milroe: Brener suggests Seattle may turn to rookie-contract quarterback Jalen Milroe for his first career start in Week 9 against the Cardinals, with Sam Darnold ruled out and Drew Lock dealing with an elbow injury. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/42d1bd81-5e19-456e-9f68-b3b135170ec0 (scored 0)
- Michael Moore on Shedeur Sanders: In a Week 9 injury roundup, Moore forecast which banged-up fantasy contributors would play or sit: Deshaun Watson, Garrett Wilson, David Montgomery, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, TreVeyon Henderson and Terrance Ferguson are expected out, while Travis Kelce, Saquon Barkley, Michael Wilson, Christian Watson and Emeka Egbuka should play. He also expects Shedeur Sanders and Drew Lock to start at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e26319a3-10aa-49a6-a24d-a257521363f0 (scored 100)
- Zachary Pereles on Shedeur Sanders: Pereles writes that if Deshaun Watson can't clear concussion protocol in time, the Browns would likely turn to second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders to start Week 9 against the Saints. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6dad75dd-1818-4a6a-91ea-832f491c2530 (scored 100)
- Nic Bodiford on Joe Fagnano: Previewing Week 9 running game matchups, Bodiford expects Jacksonville to win lopsidedly over a depleted Baltimore team, with Bhayshul Tuten sitting out and Chris Rodriguez taking over as lead back, while Joe Fagnano starts at quarterback for the Ravens. He also views Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman as an RB2 going forward. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a13b9f29-bb76-4c56-b226-aca74b21f5b7 (scored 100)
- Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace him as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0)
- Donnie Druin on Jacoby Brissett: Following the Cardinals' decision not to make staff or lineup changes, Druin states that Jacoby Brissett will remain Arizona's starting quarterback for another week, with rookie Carson Beck staying behind him. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cb29b9b6-2fbf-4df8-8438-ac3f0b9b9566 (scored 100)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

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