ClutchPoints
The Minnesota Vikings’ offense will be in rough shape for its Christmas Day game against the Detroit Lions. The Vikings have already unsurprisingly ruled out quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who suffered a significant hand injury in Week 16.
McCarthy exited the Vikings’ Week 16 win over the New York Giants midway through the game after hurting his hand on a strip sack. He was seen in visible pain on the sideline and has since been deemed to have a hairline fracture in his throwing hand, sidelining him for Week 17, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
McCarthy will miss his seventh game of the season, all due to injury. He missed five games with an ankle sprain early in the season before a separate one-game absence due to a concussion.
With just two games remaining in the regular season, McCarthy could have played his final snap of 2025. If that is the case, his pseudo-rookie season would end with 1,450 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, with 174 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns and two fumbles lost.
Fans have ridiculed McCarthy for his play throughout the year, but he began to turn a corner right before the injury. Although he threw a wild interception on a tipped pass in Week 15, he otherwise looked comfortable for the first time all year, throwing for 413 passing yards, five touchdowns and one interception in the two games before his hand injury.
Whether Vikings fans liked McCarthy or not, they are in for a rough ride on Christmas Day. Minnesota will have no other choice but to turn to undrafted rookie Max Brosmer, who is responsible for arguably the worst quarterback performance of the year. Brosmer started in Week 13 when McCarthy was out due to a concussion and recorded just 126 passing yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions in a 26-0 loss.
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