J.J. McCarthy Predicted to Win Goofy Award
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy took the NFL world by storm on Monday night, leading a historic comeback by a passer’s maiden voyage standards and defeating the Chicago Bears on the road by a score of 27-24.
ESPN published NFL predictions this week, and Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy was mentioned — to win a rather goofy award, all things considered.
NFL media took notice of McCarthy, and rightfully so — the man balled out.
ESPN took the hype a bit further on Wednesday, claiming McCarthy could win the Comeback Player of the Year award, of all trophies.
Few Would Object to ESPN’s Prediction for J.J. McCarthy
McCarthy had never played a regular season game until Monday night.
ESPN Predicts J.J. McCarthy to Win Comeback Player of the Year
Jeremy Fowler, along with a panel of voters, rolled out award predictions with the season just off the ground.
He wrote about McCarthy winning CPoY, “Several star players more accomplished than McCarthy are returning from significant injury and are in line to make a run at the comeback award. But McCarthy enters his first year starting in an ideal situation to maximize his skill set.”
“The Vikings are a playoff contender and believe they can build a Super Bowl-caliber roster with a starting quarterback under the low-cost rookie wage scale. McCarthy also benefits from sitting and watching behind the scenes for a year because of his season-ending knee injury suffered in the 2024 preseason.”
Fowler also mentioned Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Detroit Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson as lead CPoY candidates.
“Also, any young quarterback should hope to have a top-flight wide receiver (Justin Jefferson) and tight end (T.J. Hockenson) the way McCarthy does. McCarthy already was the pick before Monday night’s win over Chicago, but his three-touchdown second half (two passing, one rushing) to erase an 11-point deficit punctuated his case,” Fowler concluded.
A Bit Weird to “Come Back” when You’ve Never Started
Tabbing McCarthy for the award is fine — it is, indeed, an honor — but McCarthy hadn’t played a single game in the pros until Monday night.
He’s not really coming back from anything if he’s never played. The working theory suggests merely battling back from his season-ending meniscus tear in 2024 is evidently enough for consideration. Maybe the NFL could adopt a more flexible Rookie of the Year criteria, similar to the NBA, in cases where a player doesn’t play in their first season.
McCarthy winning COTY would not be met with jeers by fans; it’s just a little awkward, as he didn’t play in 2024. He’s much closer to Rookie of the Year than “comeback” anything.
Why Not MVP?
Voters should dream big with McCarthy.
While a 22-year-old signal-caller is unlikely to win the MVP award on the whole, if McCarthy’s team finished the season with a winning record and a playoff spot, the second-year passer should pull down MVP votes, assuming his personal production mirrored that of his team’s win-loss record.
McCarthy has a long way to go before such consideration, but one thing’s for sure: he electrified the NFL masses on Monday Night Football by chipping off the Bears with his 4th Quarter comeback.
McCarthy Off to a Hot Start
During that game, McCarthy delivered 3 touchdowns, 2 by air and 1 by ground, in the 4th Quarter alone. His offense stunk through three quarters, but once his head coach, Kevin O’Connell, trusted him to sling the rock, everything changed.
McCarthy connected with Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones for impressive passing touchdowns and scored the game-sealer with his feet.
In fact, the consensus on his performance went from “this guy is a bust” to “this guy could win MVP” in about 45 minutes of real time.
Lamar Jackson the MVP Pick
The ESPN panel picked Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens to win the MVP, and Fowler noted, “Winning a third MVP would put Jackson in an exclusive club of quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas.”
“He nearly pulled off the feat last season, but Buffalo’s Josh Allen outdistanced him in the voting, which is fitting because Allen had 424 total yards (30 rushing) and four total touchdowns (two rushing) Sunday vs. Jackson’s Ravens at home. Jackson had three touchdowns (one rushing) of his own, along with 209 passing yards on 19 attempts — 27 fewer than Allen — and 70 rushing yards.”
Jackson is also the Vegas frontrunner to take home the MVP bacon.
Fowled added, “Although Allen made a compelling opening case to go back-to-back — ‘he’s the ultimate difference-maker,’ an NFL personnel evaluator noted postgame — Jackson figures to be in the race because of a few factors: His dual-threat ability typically keeps his touchdown total high, he consistently wins games (.736 career win percentage) and he limits turnovers, averaging one interception roughly every third game since 2024.”
“And he’s coming off his first 4,000-yard passing season, a good sign for his relationship with offensive coordinator Todd Monken. His multiple turnovers in last season’s divisional-round loss to Buffalo still sting, but when it comes to the regular season, Jackson’s an elite producer.”
No Vikings player has ever won the Comeback Player of the Year award.
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