Mixed Bag Win Shows Opportunity for J.J. McCarthy
Here’s the deal: the Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions. In the NFL, when you get just 17 games to establish your identity over the course of a regular season, the only stat that matters is victories. J.J. McCarthy returned to the starting lineup and beat a top division rival.
J.J. McCarthy won a huge game against the Lions and did so without being at his best. That highlights the opportunity the Minnesota Vikings have.
The reality is that it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Coincidentally, that’s a good thing. McCarthy had not been under center for Minnesota since Week 2. Kevin O’Connell did everything he could to allow his young quarterback ample time to get healthy and regain his mobility.
J.J. McCarthy Left “Meat on the Bone” — and the Vikings Still Won.
When the dust settled in Detroit, McCarthy finished going 14-for-25 with 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was picked off once and averaged just 5.7 yards per attempt. The win was massive, but the statline was largely minuscule.
Missing on 11 of his passes, McCarthy’s accuracy was hardly pinpoint. Multiple completions were thwarted due to ball placement. Footwork was not in line on several dropbacks, and there is still a lot of room for growth.
That presents an exciting reality.
J.J. McCarthy has now been an NFL quarterback for 26 games. Of those, he has played just three. It doesn’t matter how much he was in the building or what level of learning was assumed to have taken place last year. Nothing represents true game action like the real thing.
Suggesting that McCarthy was at his best against the Lions would be an outright fallacy. The fact that he led the Vikings to a win while not being there matters. As McCarthy settles into O’Connell’s offense and continues to acclimate as an NFL quarterback, the bar only rises for him.
There has been plenty of discourse regarding Minnesota’s missteps in evaluating who should have been their starting quarterback this season. That decision was made the minute McCarthy was made a first-round pick last year. Now it’s on the coaching staff and organization to get him there, and it’s clear he has the tools to get the job done.
If the preparation and development continue to take hold, then games like Sunday will become afterthoughts rather than surprises. If that winds up happening, he’ll put the entire league on notice as they fear what his real ceiling may look like.
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