The Minnesota Vikings’ playoff hopes took a big hit with Sunday’s 19-17 loss to the division rival Chicago Bears.
The defeat dropped Minnesota to last place in the NFC North — three games behind the division-leading Bears — and also showed the difference between where the Vikings are now relative to the rest of their division.
Minnesota mustered just 265 yards of total offense, but perhaps more concerning was the play of quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
The second-year signal-caller struggled with his accuracy for the fourth time in five games this season, and he threw multiple interceptions for the third time this year.
McCarthy completed just 16 of 32 passes (50% completion rate) for 150 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions against the Bears, and Vikings fans let them know they weren’t happy with how he was playing in the third quarter when he overthrew star receiver Justin Jefferson.
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The 22-year-old McCarthy was greeted with a chorus of boos as fans made it known they were fed up with his personal struggles.
After the game, McCarthy was asked how he felt when he heard the fans jeering him, to which he sent a contrite message to his critics.
“We’ve got the greatest fans in the world, and they expect a lot more out of us, and rightfully so,” McCarthy said. “I feel like it’s just a reminder to us — we’d better get going and better figure this out. Obviously, we don’t got a lot of games left, so the urgency is at an all-time high. But we’ve just got to be better for the fans, especially at home.”
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Though the Vikings are nearly two-thirds of the way through their season, McCarthy is just five starts into his NFL career.
An ankle injury sidelined him for five games this season, but fans don’t seem to be too understanding about McCarthy still learning on the job.
Things don’t get any easier for McCarthy either. The Vikings have big games against the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks over the next two weeks before closing out the regular season with games against the Detroit Lions and Packers at home.
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