Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy had already been told not to “Griddy” into the end zone.
But c’mon — he was scoring anyway, and being told not to do the celebration dance only made the 22-year-old want to do it more. So McCarthy added a little flavor to the Vikings’ 34-26 road win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.
In the second quarter, McCarthy broke wide open on a goal-line bootleg, where 21 of 22 players crashed toward the middle of the field while McCarthy sauntered alone toward the end zone. The score came during what became McCarthy’s best career start. In an ode to teammate Justin Jefferson, who popularized the dance, he kicked his legs out and skipped into a Griddy as he crossed the goal line.
JJ McCarthy griddys into the end zone!
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Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell enjoyed the resulting touchdown, but he wasn’t particularly fond of the extra mustard his quarterback slathered on top of the score.
“The finish, I would not classify as special,” O’Connell told reporters after the game. “It was entertaining. I guess we are in the entertainment business, but I would’ve preferred him to show that 40 time that he likes to talk about, having never run a 40 coming out (of college), which was unique, to say the least. But as a guy who once ran a fast 40 and couldn’t throw it very well, I can probably understand why quarterbacks are choosing to do that these days.”
McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft who missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, has struggled in his first season on the field for Minnesota. He has now thrown 11 interceptions and 11 touchdowns in eight starts. He has thrown the third-most interceptions in the league this year, despite playing five or six fewer games than others near the top of the list. On Sunday, Dallas picked off McCarthy’s first throw of the game.
Pressure forces the pick‼️
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But the young quarterback rebounded, throwing two touchdowns and a career-high 250 passing yards in the Vikings’ win. So he allowed himself to show off a bit on that second-quarter score.
“I did it in practice, and I was told not to do it,” McCarthy told reporters postgame. “So just me being who I am, it’s like, ‘Oh, now I’m more enticed to do it.’ But if it’s that open, obviously just get in the end zone no matter what — and be coachable and do what my coach says. So yeah, I’ll definitely get a minus (grade) for that one.”
The 6-8 Vikings were eliminated from playoff contention before their game Sunday night, after the Chicago Bears beat the Cleveland Browns earlier in the day and made it impossible for Minnesota to match the NFC North-leading Bears’ current 10-win total with three games left in the season. That meant the Vikings’ clash with the Cowboys would be a game about pride.
And progress.
McCarthy completed 62.5 percent of his passes against Dallas, a notch above his 56.8 season average. He made several high-level throws, including an impressive 29-yard layered seam pass between multiple defenders in the middle of the field to tight end T.J. Hockenson. O’Connell called the play “spectacular.”
After missing all of 2024 and multiple games this season with injuries, McCarthy has been working to find his rhythm, and the results so far have raised questions about his future as a starting-caliber NFL quarterback.
However, in his last two games, McCarthy has steered the Minnesota offense to an average of 32.5 points in back-to-back wins, with the quarterback throwing five touchdowns against just one interception.
“We’re building up to a little bit more experience, a little bit more time on task, a little bit more understanding of what playing the quarterback position at the NFL level is,” O’Connell said.
So maybe the Griddy was a bit much in the coach’s eyes, but the young signal caller will take the minus.
He was feeling it in Dallas.
