QB J.J. McCarthy: ‘All that matters is going 1-0 every week’

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

J.J.Caster, how's your hip feeling?

J.J. McCarthy (0:01)

It's feeling good. You know, football is a physical game, and I can't thank the training staff enough for helping me get back on the field as fast as possible, but yeah, it's feeling pretty good.

SPEAKER_3 (0:10)

Can you just take us through what happened there from the hit to you threw the sideline, you saw you clearly had a lot of pain, and then just coming back in the game. What's that whole process there?

J.J. McCarthy (0:18)

Yeah, obviously, the play was quarterback driven run, and I pulled it based off my read, and the goal is to get to the numbers, get out of bounds. And I pulled it back inside, and kind of saw Bond late, and tried to get my shoulder down, didn't get it down enough, and he made a great hit. And at the end of the day, I just got to protect myself and do a better job of doing that.

SPEAKER_3 (0:45)

When you left to go into the locker room, were you following what was going on with James?

J.J. McCarthy (0:51)

I was, yes. And, you know, it's just a testament to J.Mo. He's a true pro, like to be able to step in there and, you know, be that spark and, you know, lead the team down the field. It was absolutely awesome to watch. And, you know, just so proud of him and the way he cared himself throughout the entire week and throughout this whole process. And, you know, I was really happy for him to go see him do that and great catch by Zay. You know, so many guys were making plays and it was really awesome. It was great for our team to go down there and get some points.

SPEAKER_4 (1:18)

JJ., on that run for the first down on the left side, what did it look like at the end?

SPEAKER_1 (1:21)

You were hopping on one.

SPEAKER_4 (1:24)

What were you feeling at the end of that run?

J.J. McCarthy (1:26)

Just feeling, you know, kind of side effects of the hit from before. And, you know, it was a big first down. And, you know, getting there with my legs, you know, by all means, we were doing whatever we can to win this game. And, you know, that was obviously a big play where I needed to step up. And, you know, happy we did that.

SPEAKER_5 (1:43)

When you came out through the tunnel, I mean, obviously the game has changed since we were in the back.

You looked like you sprinted out, ran right to the sideline, to the bench. Were you almost trying to convince not only yourself but everybody else that you were good, were good to go, ready to go, regardless of what anyone was thinking as you got out there?

J.J. McCarthy (2:03)

Yes, and also it was, you know, my first time, you know, running full speed and trying to get it, you know, going. Obviously, you can't really run that far in this locker room. So just being able to get out there and just get it moving right away was kind of the goal.

SPEAKER_5 (2:16)

So it was intentional as you were coming in, you knew you wanted it.

J.J. McCarthy (2:19)

Yeah, just to feel it out and, you know, make sure that I was ready to go full speed.

SPEAKER_1 (2:25)

Got a quick turnaround. I mean, I was really asking this, but how do you feel about Thursday night?

J.J. McCarthy (2:29)

Feel good. You know, at the end of the day, like I said, it's a physical game, and, you know, a lot of guys are banged up, but we're going to do our best to make sure we, you know, turn over as fast as possible and do whatever we can between now and then and make sure we're as close to this 100%, you know, leading up to a great opponent against Washington. You know, they're going to be hungry, and we're really excited to go get this one.

SPEAKER_3 (2:49)

When you were in the locker room or you were in the examination room, where exactly were you?

J.J. McCarthy (2:54)

Both. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_3 (2:56)

How anxious were you to get back out on that field?

J.J. McCarthy (2:59)

Extremely. You know, if I'm able to walk, I'm able to throw, like, I want to get back out there as soon as possible. So, you know, just like I said, can't thank, you know, the team enough, the athletic team for just really doing everything that, you know, was beneficial towards me. They didn't really push any lines or anything like that. And, you know, just can't thank them enough.