Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been the subject of lots of criticism lately. In five games this season, he has completed just 52.9% of his pass attempts, and he has thrown more interceptions (eight) than touchdown passes (six) as the Vikings have fallen to a 4-6 record.
On Sunday, he gave them a chance to defeat the surprising Chicago Bears after they fell behind 16-3 in the third quarter. His touchdown pass to Jordan Addison with 50 seconds left gave them a one-point lead, but they subsequently gave up a 56-yard kickoff return, setting the scene for Cairo Santos to hit a 48-yard field goal with no time left to give Chicago the win.
Plenty of people are calling for McCarthy to be benched in favor of veteran QB Carson Wentz. But he feels his play is about to pop, and he made an interesting analogy to illustrate how confident he is that he’s on the verge of turning things around.
“I kind of make the analogy of just a cork about to come off a bottle,” said McCarthy. “Just understanding that it’s one to three little things that I need to change about my game that is going to make a huge difference in the outcome of every single drive in the game. So yeah, I feel like it’s really close, but it all comes down to the consistency of the fundamentals.”
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McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, missed all of last year because of a meniscus injury. He was also forced to miss five games this season with a high ankle sprain, and there has been talk about how he needs to improve his mechanics in order to become a competent signal-caller.
While he led the University of Michigan to the national championship months before he entered the NFL, he played in a run-heavy system there under then-coach Jim Harbaugh. It led to questions about whether he could thrive while playing in a more modern offense in the pros.
McCarthy certainly has the type of skill players around him who can help him thrive, such as Addison, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, tight end T.J. Hockenson and running back Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. Last season, Sam Darnold, another former high draft pick who had been previously dismissed as a bust, put up 4,319 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns while playing for Minnesota.
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If McCarthy has it within him to succeed in the pros, perhaps he eventually will, especially if he remains the Vikings’ QB1. But for now, the team will have a difficult schedule, as it will face the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, two excellent defensive squads, on the road over the next two weeks.
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