Daily Norseman
With the much-anticipated return of J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings not only managed to overcome the largest point-spread of the KOC era, but also the biggest upset win since 2010 against the Detroit Lions.
The oddsmakers, who tend to be adept at such things, the national sports media bloviators, and, sadly, yours truly, didn’t think the Vikings could pull it off.
I was thrilled to be wrong.
In short, it was precisely the type of game I envisioned for the first half of the season: McCarthy showing flashes and making high-leverage plays in clutch situations, amid inconsistency and expected developmental hiccups, aided by a lights-out, elite defense to secure close victories. It was this formula that initially led me to predict a close victory in this contest back in May. Better late than never, I guess.
Given the circumstances, this was the biggest win of the KOC era. And while I’m not ready to dust off my playoff prediction just yet, it could signal good things over the final nine games. I’m still in the wait-and-see camp given the inconsistent performances shown in all phases of the team so far, but my goodness, was that satisfying.
While the folks at the DN have done their usual excellent job recapping everything, here are some other quick thoughts:
J.J. McCarthy and the “It Factor”: All the guy does is win. Everywhere. In high school, he was 36-2. At Michigan, he was 27-1 and led the Wolverines to a national championship. Now, he’s 2-1 with the Vikings, with two road division wins. The loss to the Falcons was filled with caveats. The statistics so far are modest, but the clutch plays made in high-pressure situations with the game on the line are anything but. You know, the hardest part and the only thing that truly matters in the end. The three games have included long stretches of inconsistent execution in the passing game. McCarthy missed throws and made mistakes. That’s to be expected, and it’s surely something that will be a focus moving forward. A complete game approaching the high points so far is something we should all be excited about. The 300-yard passing games will come soon enough. I’ll take the victories first, thank you very much.
With that in mind…
Time to Put the Conspiracy Theories to Rest: Toss the tinfoil hats in the trash, folks. I never bought into the “soft benching” theory about McCarthy, and no one else should now, either. It made no sense, considering how the offseason unfolded. Red flags would have been caught, and an insurance policy would’ve been taken out. That insurance policy would have been Aaron Rodgers. Heck, maybe even Joe Flacco, who’s got the Bengals’ offense humming to the tune of 37.6 points per game over the last three weeks. Of course, defense is a thing, too. The Vikings are built to win now, with expectations for McCarthy resting comfortably in the 2024 Daniels to Nix range. I have no reason to think this...
