It took just one game for New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy to change the narrative after facing criticism every weekend. The Week 7 matchup against the Houston Texans was expected to be a challenging one. And it was, with the game going into overtime. However, McCarthy delivered when it mattered, helping the Giants pull off an incredible 27-21 upset and earn praise from veteran players and NFL analysts.

However, former linebacker Emmanuel Acho was careful with his remarks and refused to overreact. According to him, one game cannot define McCarthy’s current status, as consistency has been a major issue for the quarterback.

Emmanuel Acho Drops Blunt Reaction to J.J. McCarthy’s Stellar Win

Although he didn’t throw a touchdown, McCarthy played efficiently and made several smart decisions.

Against a Texans defense that has struggled to find consistency, he made several deep throws and helped the Giants’ rushing attack, led by running back Cam Skattebo. Skattebo rushed for 124 yards and helped the team penetrate the defense flawlessly. Meanwhile, Acho believes it might be too early to jump on the J.J. McCarthy hype train.

“I will not apologize to J.J. McCarthy. But I will applaud,” Acho said on Sunday’s episode of the “Speakeasy” show.

“I won’t apologize because y’all have such a short-term memory that you forgot the last first time we saw J.J. McCarthy. The last first time we saw J.J. McCarthy was last year against the Chicago Bears, down 17-6 going into the fourth quarter. J.J. McCarthy storms all the way back, wins that game 27-24, and everybody bombs out the pom-poms. Go J.J., go J.J. Then what happened? He went to hell,” he added.

Acho emphasized that McCarthy needs to show greater consistency in the coming weeks. Despite being the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, McCarthy had fallen to third-string status in Minnesota just over a year after making his first NFL start. His time in Minnesota has been difficult, with questions surrounding his performances and consistency.

However, other NFL veterans, including Chad Johnson, were impressed with how McCarthy handled the game.

“The praise for J.J. McCarthy, it needs to be just as loud as the disrespect was, that I said a few shows ago,” Johnson said on Sunday’s episode of “Nightcap.”

Similarly, former NFL player Justin Simmons apologized and said, “I fully expected to come on the show today and say this was a bad call from Harbaugh… I was going to blame him for starting J.J.”

Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher, meanwhile, suggested that John Harbaugh could consider using McCarthy and Jaxson Dart equally.

“They both have the same skill set. Ideally, you could have these two young men as your quarterbacks going into next year… Somebody takes it, then they take it. If somebody all of a sudden falls, you go to the other guy. I think just like he did with Jameis Winston,” Cowher said on Sunday.

With Dart expected to miss the rest of the regular season and Winston moved back into the backup role, McCarthy is expected to remain as the starter in the coming games. The Giants are currently ranked No. 23 in PFN’s NFL Impact Rankings, with a grade of 71.6.

Following their Week 8 bye, the Giants will face the Philadelphia Eagles on November 8. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.