It’s J.J. McCarthy Time after Carson Wentz Runs Course
J.J. McCarthy is scheduled to return from his ankle injury for Sunday’s game at Detroit, which would be his homecoming of sorts to the area where he achieved college success, winning the 2023 national championship at Michigan.
J.J. McCarthy is set to reclaim the Vikings’ starting QB job after Carson Wentz’s injury, returning Sunday against the Lions in Detroit.
McCarthy’s return was going to happen at some point, but it was made crystal clear with Carson Wentz going on injured reserve due to season-ending surgery on his left shoulder. Wentz was in obvious pain during a bad outing last Thursday, as the Vikings suffered a disappointing 37-10 defeat to a Chargers team that had lost three of its previous four games.
J.J. McCarthy Will Reemerge This Sunday after the Carson Wentz Era
Regardless of Wentz’s impending IR status, McCarthy was destined to return to the lineup when Wentz overthrew a wide-open Justin Jefferson for a fourth-quarter interception that sealed the game for the Chargers.
Wentz passed for only 144 yards and was sacked five times as the Vikings’ offensive line was missing three starters by the ninth snap when Christian Darrisaw left the game (knee). His fellow tackle Brian O’Neill was inactive in the short week with his knee problem, and center Ryan Kelly is still on injured reserve after two concussions.
The good news for the Vikings is that Darrisaw and O’Neill were back at practice on Monday as the Vikings prepare to take on the two-time defending NFC North champion Lions in Detroit on Sunday. The Vikings have lost the last four years in Motown and have fallen the last five times overall to the Lions, who are 5-2 and coming off their bye.
It would be a big upset if the Vikings can win on Sunday, but upsets do happen every week in the NFL. The Lions have their own injury concerns in the secondary, which could bode well for McCarthy and his talented receivers if he has time to throw, which is mainly dependent on whether Darrisaw and O’Neill can play the whole game.
The availability of two other players is also key to help the run game and in pass protection — tight end Josh Oliver, who left the Chargers game after nine snaps with a foot injury, and fullback C.J. Ham, who was inactive with a hand injury.
These injuries severely hampered the run game last week as the Vikings rushed for only 34 yards on 11 carries despite having Aaron Jones back in the lineup. A decent rushing attack is critical to balance the offense in McCarthy’s return. And protection for the young QB is a must, so he doesn’t get reinjured via sacks or scrambling.
If that happens, rookie and current No. 2 QB Max Brosmer will be next up unless the team adds a veteran QB this week and elevates that player ahead of Brosmer. One possibility is Desmond Ridder, who was with the team for a couple of weeks earlier this season before being waived.
Here are my other reactions to the Vikings’ loss to the Chargers
1. Tyler Batty’s holding: he was called for holding on two long kickoff returns by Myles Price, wiping out a 46-yard return on the opening kickoff and a 42-yard return in the third quarter. That amounted to 49 yards of field position lost. It’s ridiculous that the same player had the same penalty twice. I say take him off the kickoff return unit unless he’s that good of a blocker. Ivan Pace was called for moving too soon on the second kickoff of the game for a five-yard penalty. This unit needs to be much better for Price and the team.
2. Back to Wentz and McCarthy: in the five games he started (with a 2-3 record), Wentz was far too erratic. He’d make a great throw, then not be able to hit an easy throw in the flat or overthrow an open receiver, as on his interception in L.A. At this stage of his career, he’s an OK backup as long as he doesn’t have to play multiple games, which was his role with the Rams and Chiefs over the past two seasons.
McCarthy has to be coached up to get rid of the ball more quickly than he did in the Chicago and Atlanta games, so he can activate his great skill players—Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Jalen Nailor, and Aaron Jones — out of the backfield. And McCarthy has to be reminded often to slide when he takes off running, as he must stay healthy to get the experience he needs to become the QB the Vikings expect him to be as the tenth pick in the 2024 draft.
3. It’s obvious how much the offense misses Darrisaw and O’Neill when they’re out. On defense, I think the absence of Pro Bowl edge/OLB Andrew Van Ginkel has been a huge, perhaps underrated factor in the inconsistency against both the run and the pass.
Van Ginkel is a playmaker (two Pick-6s, 11.5 sacks, 19 QB hits, 79 tackles,18 tackles-for-loss, and six passes defensed last season). He knows how to set the edge against the run and protect against QBs getting outside the pocket better than Dallas Turner as a second-year player. Van Ginkel is a great finisher on sacks, which has been a huge issue the last two weeks, as Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert hurt the Vikings by extending plays for big completions and running for first downs.
Regarding Turner, he’s only 22 years old and will continue to improve, but he has to play smarter than to launch himself at Herbert’s head and shoulders for a 15-yard roughing-the-passer call on the Chargers’ first touchdown drive.
4. 3rd-and-1 and afraid to run it: similar to the series in the second quarter against the Eagles when the Vikings threw three times after having 2nd-and-1 at the 6, it happened again against the Chargers on the first series when Wentz threw incomplete instead of Kevin O’Connell calling for a Jordan Mason run to the left side behind Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson and Oliver (this was when Darrisaw and Oliver were still in the game). Mason is supposed to be the power back to pick up these first downs or TDs in short-yardage situations.
5. The Vikings defense must make big plays when they’re presented the opportunity, as they did last season when they led the league with 33 takeaways (only eight thus far). Isaiah Rodgers has to make a clean catch on the Pick 6 that was overturned as he did in the Bengals game.
Jonathan Greenard has to get Herbert on the ground when he has a shot at a big sack on the first L.A. drive. That likely would’ve forced a field goal instead of a TD on the drive.
6. Cover the tight end better: with Lions Pro Bowl TE Sam LaPorta up next, followed by the Ravens, who throw to their tight ends a lot, the Vikings’ coverage of tight ends must quickly improve after rookie Oronde Gadsden found plenty of open space on his way to a five catch, 77-yard, and one TD day. Safeties Theo Jackson and Josh Metellus are not making enough plays in coverage.
For the second straight week, corner Jeff Okudah was not good enough in coverage, which was obvious when he was beaten on the 27-yard TD to Ladd McConkey. Now, Okudah is dealing with a concussion. Is it time to give Dwight McGlothern a shot as the third corner or re-sign Stephon Gilmore?
7. The run defense has to be able to stop a third-string running back, which didn’t happen with Kimani Vidal gaining 117 yards on 23 carries (5.1 average) with a 3-yard TD run to put the Chargers up 14-0. Next up—the Detroit duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, followed by Baltimore’s Derrick Henry. Buckle up vs. the run, defense.
8. Third downs: 3 of 11 for the Vikings on third down (plus 0 for 1 on fourth down) while allowing the Chargers to convert 9 of 13. Not the formula for success.
This factor contributed to the Chargers having 39 minutes in time of possession vs. 21 for the Vikings. It will be big trouble if that doesn’t improve significantly in Detroit on Sunday.
9. Penalties: after a better showing in the Philly game (three penalties), this season-long problem resurfaced against the Chargers with eight penalties for 66 yards. The Vikings must play with more discipline to get on a winning streak soon.
Around the NFL Observations from Week 8
1. The Packers lead the NFC North and have the best record in the NFC after rallying from a 16-7 halftime deficit to dominate the Steelers in the second half and win 35-25 on the road. Jordan Love had an outstanding game as he completed 20 passes in a row en route to a 360-yard, three TD game.
Love outplayed his former teammate, Aaron Rodgers, who threw two TD passes with no turnovers but was sacked three times. Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft had seven catches for 143 yards and two TDs. The Packers face 4-4 Carolina at home this Sunday.
2. The Bears had their four-game winning streak stopped in a 30-16 loss at Baltimore, who won without Lamar Jackson as Tyler Huntley quarterbacked the win. The Chicago D had no takeaways after coming into the game as the league leaders with 16. The Bears are at Cincinnati this week to face a 3-5 Bengals team that just lost to the previously winless Jets but knocked off the Steelers the week before.
3. In other key games, the Colts improved to a league-best 7-1 by dominating the Titans 38-14 behind Jonathan Taylor’s three TDs, including an 80-yard run and a 19-yard pass from Daniel Jones. Taylor leads the NFL with 850 yards rushing and 14 TDs. Jones continued his excellent play this season with 272 passing yards, three TD passes, and no turnovers. He ranks fifth with a 109.5 passer rating.
The Eagles avenged their earlier loss to the Giants by whipping them 38-20 in Philly. Saquon Barkley had a big game against his former team with 150 rushing yards (including a 65-yard TD) and Jalen Hurts followed up his impressive performance against the Vikings with four TD passes despite A.J. Brown missing the game with a hamstring injury (the Vikings wish that had been the case the week before when he had four catches for 121 yards and two TDs against the Purple secondary).
Atlanta was upset 34-10 at home by 2-6 Miami, with Kirk Cousins starting for the injured Michael Penix (knee) but having little success (173 passing yards, no TDs, no turnovers).
4. Despite their 3-4 record, the Vikings can jump into the playoff race with a strong run over the final 10 games.
They were helped in Week 8 by losses from several NFC playoff contenders including the Bears (now 4-3), Atlanta (3-4), Dallas (3-4-1 after falling at Denver), Carolina (4-4 after getting thumped 40-9 at home by Buffalo), San Francisco (5-3 after losing at Houston) and Washington (3-5 following their Monday night loss at Kansas City as Jayden Daniels was out with a hamstring injury).
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