One NFL coach offered a withering assessment of Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy after the team’s 19-17 loss to the Chicago Bears.
The coach sensed a palpable level of exasperation from Minnesota’s pass-catchers because of the throws they’re getting from the first-year starter.
“The receivers are visually frustrated, and they are open all over the tape,” the coach told The Athletic’s Mike Sando. “All of them — (Jalen) Nailor, (Jordan) Addison, (Justin) Jefferson, the tight end (T.J. Hockenson). That should be a Cincinnati offense, but all you hear from Minnesota is about how rosy and great it is there. What I see is a quarterback who feels like he is really frustrating the play caller.”
McCarthy went 16-of-32 for 150 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Bears. It was the fourth time in five starts he finished with fewer than 200 passing yards.
The 2024 first-round pick showed some poise as the Vikings went 85 yards on 10 plays and took a 17-16 lead with 50 seconds remaining thanks to Jordan Addison’s 15-yard touchdown catch.
“It wasn’t the best game for all of us,” star receiver Justin Jefferson told reporters. “I felt like we should have played better all in all. But at the end of the day, when it all counted and it all mattered, J.J. stepped up. So that’s the main key focus of it. Of course, there are things to work through. Of course, there’s things to fix on the offensive side of the ball. And we feel that we have to help the defense out a lot more than what we’re doing.”
Still, McCarthy’s numbers, both on Sunday and overall, speak for themselves. For the year, he’s completing just 52.9 percent of his passes and averaging 168.4 passing yards per contest.
Even when taking into account the time the 22-year-old missed as a rookie after tearing his meniscus, you’d hope he would be a little further along in his development.
McCarthy is playing into the lot of the concerns talent evaluators had about him coming out of college. Bleacher Report NFL scout Derrik Klassen called him “a one-speed thrower who struggles to layer throws in, particularly down the field and outside the numbers.”
Those critiques are holding true.
There’s nothing to indicate head coach Kevin O’Connell is wavering on McCarthy as the the starter.
Should this keep up, the Vikings may have a dilemma on their hands, though, because McCarthy’s early returns have been that discouraging.
