Week 14 Roundtable: Minnesota Vikings vs. Commanders (Bail to the Commanders?)

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Week 14 Minnesota Vikings roundtable here at Daily Norseman. The Vikes are on the verge of elimination from the playoff field, but that’s not really in play anymore anyway.

It’s now time to see what the Vikings can get from J.J. McCarthy, if they can get him in sync with Justin Jefferson and about finding out who is part of the future and who is playing out the string in Purple.

Let’s talk to it:

Question 1: What do you need to see from J.J. McCarthy the rest of the way?

Brandon Warne: I need to see potential. I need to see an inside-out game where his decision-making allows him to take short plays and live to fight another day. I love me a gunslinger and Lord knows we’ve seen them here with Brett Favre and even Case Keenum, but as Paul Allen likes to say, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Plus, working on the short game should help with his accuracy issues — and ironing them out — which should in turn open up the plays downfield that he loves so much.

Christopher Gates: Man, at this point, just show us anything. Go out there, run the offense, move the ball down the field, and score points. There’s talent in there somewhere, and there’s five games left in this season for him to show it. At this point, McCarthy has to know that he’s playing for his spot next season and that the team is, at the very least, going to be bringing in competition for him in 2026. He needs to go out there and show that there’s a reason this team made him a top ten draft choice and give this team and these fans something to actually believe in going forward. Wins and losses are irrelevant at this point. Just show us something positive.

Craig Williams: We need to see faster decision-making and better accuracy. McCarthy has to give some hope to the front office that he can develop into the QB of the future.

Warren Ludford: Signs of improvement in accuracy, processing, throwing with touch, and durability.

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Question 2: Assume the Vikings bring in a veteran QB this offseason: who do you want to see, and how do you make it happen?

BW: I think it’s gotta be Jameis Winston. I’m still not sure why he signed a deal worth about $4 million per year — peanuts for a quarterback with his spotty, but sizable resume — but that’s the perfect type of guy to pit against McCarthy. There’s a lot of Winston’s game in McCarthy’s and vice versa, and you’d hope the competition would bring the best out of JJM without adding much of a deleterious effect. I don’t know, I have a hard time seeing someone like Kyler Murray coming through that door. And what’s the use of bringing in another for sure starter to kick the fan on McCarthy further...