Kevin O’Connell working to balance what’s best for J.J. McCarthy with what’s best for team
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first NFL start came against the Bears in Week 1 and it looked like his second matchup with the Vikings’ divisional rival might end the same way.
In Week 1, McCarthy rebounded from a rough three quarters to lead the team to a win. On Sunday, the Vikings trailed 16-3 entering the fourth quarter and McCarthy was 10-of-22 with many of his incompletions missing by wide margins. He went 6-of-10 while leading two touchdown drives in the final 15 minutes. The second score came with 50 seconds to play, but the Bears got a big kickoff return to set up a field goal that gave them a 19-17 win.
McCarthy’s finish offered some encouragement, but McCarthy is now 50-of-99 with five interceptions in three starts since returning from an ankle injury. After the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked at his press conference about balancing McCarthy’s development with trying to win enough games to advance to the postseason.
“There’s what’s best for the young quarterback, what’s best for our offense, what’s best for our team,” O’Connell said. “That’s my job to manage all those things and I’ve got to do a better job of that.”
O’Connell was later asked if there was a level of performance that would lead him to make a quarterback change during a game. He said he’s “not going to get into any of that right now” and the Vikings will be hoping that McCarthy shows enough improvement to take that consideration off the table for the rest of the season.
