Sportsnaut
Before the season started, Minnesota Vikings fans were eager to get their first look at J.J. McCarthy in a regular season game. Last year’s excitement was quickly derailed following McCarthy’s two touchdown preseason debut, where the first-round pick suffered a season-ending knee injury.
This time, McCarthy’s season was thrown off by an ankle sprain in the team’s Week 2 loss. Overall, McCarthy has provided a very small sample size of 41 passing attempts through two games.
There have been high points, such as his two-touchdown fourth quarter in his first official start, coming on Monday Night Football in primetime. Yet, there have also been low points, such as McCarthy’s three interceptions (including a pick-six).
Throughout all the madness, the Vikings don’t know exactly what they have in their 22-year-old franchise quarterback quite yet. However, former New York Giants Super Bowl-winning QB Phil Simms says he’d “be worried” about McCarthy. Specifically, Simms feels McCarthy will “need a lot of work.”
It’s fair to offer criticisms over what we’ve seen from McCarthy thus far. Yet, it’s also important to note that it’s only been two games, one of which he was apparently fighting through an injury.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell and the rest of the staff surely has their own feedback for McCarthy early on. If anything, his ankle injury gives McCarthy time to iron out the kinks, but it’s always a different animal out on the field than it is in the film room or in practice.
For now, Carson Wentz has the keys to the offense. Depending on how he does, he could stay in the captain’s chair for a few extra weeks. Wentz passed his first test, and the Vikings have made it known that McCarthy is expected back after their Week 6 bye, but things could change over the next three weeks.
Related: 2025 NFL QB Rankings: Where’s Carson Wentz?
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