That game was very interesting. It started off not too great which was not a surprise. The pick 6 was not really a big deal to me as I expect JJ will throw some picks. Hopefully not too many pick 6’s though. To be honest, I was not a huge fan before the draft for a couple of reasons. First, he did not have to do too much at Michigan and second, way too many folks were predicting that the team would have to trade up using another first round pick (and more) to get him. There is no way I would have wanted them to do that for him, Maye, Nix, or Penix. The minor trade up was OK.
Last year, he was impressive in his one preseason start. I liked how he completed the passes that he should have completed. He looks to get better as the game goes on. Maybe it is just getting warmed up or it is his competitive nature. Either way, we could be on the verge of having a QB similar to Mahomes, Jackson, Allen, Burrow, and Hurts. We deserve a true franchise level top 5 -10 QB.
I am not going to get ahead of myself and I am prepared for some struggles. But the young man has a lot of moxie. I do not know if you call that “it”. I do not know what “it” is but it usually means a trip to the doctor if you have “it”.
1-0 baby! Falcons coming to town which will be another test.
I am guessing Eric Wilson will start for Cashman while he is out. I wonder if they will try to bring back Asamoah off the Raiders practice squad? I am not sure there is another practice squad player they will like. Maybe Kyzir White? I am not sure there is a trade to be had either.
Leo Chenal, Tyrel Dodson, Jerome Baker, and Chad Muma are some names I like.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
J.J. McCarthy endured six three-and-outs in his first nine professional drives on Monday Night Football at Chicago. His first two went kaput with sacks on third downs; two throws were interrupted upon their release on series No. 5; and his seventh sequence featured a wrong-way touchdown – with a pass intended for star receiver Justin Jefferson, breaking outside, intercepted by cornerback Nahshon Wright.
McCarthy didn’t author a perfect NFL debut in his hometown, but he absolutely fostered a storybook comeback. Better yet, he instilled an indelible belief in his teammates by asking them a simple question:
“Where else would you rather be?”
His leadership, his poise, his authenticity – they were all instrumental to Minnesota’s 27-24 victory.
“I’ve never actually said that before, but I feel like it was at the perfect time; guys were kind of just in their head a little bit,” McCarthy reflected afterwards. “And I feel like, if you could – a smile goes a long way. So there were a lot of smiles after I said that, and just a little bit of a perspective shift: ‘Yeah, things weren’t going our way, but we’re here doing this together’ – and the boys, they responded perfectly.”
“It juiced us up, honestly, to hear our quarterback have those words and lead us in that type of way,” Jefferson added. “It’s definitely something that we need. It’s not every time you hear J.J. be that type of guy, but today, game day, when the lights are shining, he knows how to come to work and he knows how to have that dog mentality. And he never gave up. That was the big thing about it. He just kept going, play after play, not really thinking on the interception he had, just all about focusing on the next play.”
“Obviously, converting third downs early on was an issue to be able to get drives going. But J.J. McCarthy, for him to make some of the plays he did — I told him at halftime, ‘You are going to bring us back to win this game,’ and the look in his eye was fantastic,” Head Coach Kevin O’Connell detailed. “And the best thing is just the belief I felt from the team, the unit, and ultimately, that doesn’t get done without him.”
McCarthy’s interception, on the Vikings first series of the second half, lended a learning lesson that pushed him to become the first starting QB to rally from 10-plus points in the fourth quarter of their NFL debut since Steve Young in 1985 (and first on the road since at least 1950), according to NFL Research.
“You never want to earn wisdom that way. But it just brought me straight back to [playing against] TCU (in the CFP Semifinals on New Year’s Eve 2022) when I had that first [interception] early on in the game, and then the second one later. At the end of the day, yeah, it sucks. It’s one of the worst things you could do as a quarterback, but can’t do anything about it,” McCarthy said honestly. “That’s one of those things I don’t really hang on. And I was really grateful for the way [Quarterbacks] Coach [Josh] McCown and Coach O’Connell handled it – it was everyone on the same page: ‘All right, that happened. Next play.’ ”
O’Connell elaborated on the strategic short-term memory.
“When you have a pick six [with] the way the first half went, normally, that’s enough for a lot of teams to go ahead and pack their stuff up and head home,” the coach said. “I just told him, just like the whole day, ‘Let’s just keep playing the next snap together and I promise you we’ll find a way.’ That’s what I told him.”
When the final whistle blew, McCarthy was 13-for-20 passing with 143 yards, two touchdowns and the lone turnover, good for a 98.5 passer rating. He also rushed twice – for one of the team’s four first-half first downs and the dagger touchdown on a read-option with 2:53 left that put Minnesota ahead 27-17.
That run was extra sweet.
“I was absolutely fired up. It was the perfect time to call it. Coach McCown actually brought it up in his little pregame speech at the hotel. He was talking about how he was running ‘Wanda Bear’ – that’s what we call it – in 2013 and I was probably running it in seventh grade somewhere, but I was actually 10 at the time, so he was pretty close,” McCarthy quipped. “The offensive line did a great job; T.J. [Hockenson] with that block on Jaquan [Brisker], and just finishing the job. That was one of my favorites, for sure.”
…
O’Connell telling McCarthy he was going to will the team to a win “meant everything,” McCarthy said.
The boyhood Bears fan and Vikings quarterback continued, “That guy is one of the best, if not the best, head coach, in my opinion, in the National Football League. So any kind of compliment or belief like that, it means the world. And that just gave me all the confidence to go out there and just execute the plays.”
O’Connell was particularly complimentary of McCarthy “meeting the moment.”
“Part of this thing with a young quarterback is everybody’s going to be waiting for the ‘aha’ moment of like, ‘look what happened’,” O’Connell remarked. “That can weigh on a player, but not him. I mean, he prepared the right way. And, you know, you talk about meeting the moment, regardless of circumstances, regardless of what the outcome may have ended up being, there is a big-picture plan that, you know, you hope to, you know, not have this chapter be the first chapter of needing to bring your team back so significantly after a really tough start. But, yeah, this is, I mean, there’s no — look, there’s no way to deny we don’t win this game unless J.J plays the way he did in the second half, and most importantly, kept the belief of his football team behind him. And now we know it’s possible.”
How did all this feel after a rookie season spoiled by a meniscus tear in his right knee?
“I think I’ll feel that on the plane ride home,” said McCarthy, taking into consideration that his last “competitive” football game (winning the national championship at Michigan) was 609 days ago. “It’s been a while of just being in the training room, watching a lot of film, learning the playbook and trying to master that. But at the end of the day, it’s such a blessing to be an NFL football player and play in this league, and I’m grateful that we get to go out there next week and play the Falcons on Sunday night.”
No. 11 (up 1 spot): Eric Edholm – NFL.com
Entering the fourth quarter, J.J. McCarthy’s first start was nothing short of a nightmare. He’d completed 7 of 12 passes for 56 yards, taken three sacks and thrown a pick six that put the Vikings in a 17-6 hole. But when the Bears missed a field goal that would’ve given them a two-touchdown lead, something clicked in McCarthy – and he went nuclear. A lot of credit goes to Kevin O’Connell, who truly feels like one of the league’s best coaches. But years from now, if McCarthy ultimately hits it big in this league, people will talk about his fourth quarter in Chicago. Suddenly flipping the switch in his first regular-season game, he led three brilliant TD drives, notching two scores with his arm and one with his legs, plus a two-point toss to Adam Thielen. Meanwhile, Brian Flores’ ‘defense started getting home on pass rushes, making Caleb Williams pretty uncomfortable after halftime. But the night belonged to McCarthy – a Bears fan growing up – finding his way through some serious adversity.
No. 12 (down 2 spots): Josh Kendall – The Athletic
It was a nightmare start for J.J. McCarthy. He looked overwhelmed, every bit the rookie making his first start on the road on Monday Night Football. But Kevin O’Connell kept encouraging his 22-year-old QB and delivered a play-calling clinic to aid McCarthy’s incredible bounce-back performance as the Vikings turned around a 17-6 deficit.
No. 8 (down 1 spot): Frank Schwab – Yahoo! Sports
Many quarterbacks would have folded in their first start if they played like J.J. McCarthy did in the first three quarters. McCarthy stayed in the fight and had two passing touchdowns and a rushing score in the fourth quarter of a comeback win. That was telling.
Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Bears (out of 56)
QB J.J. McCarthy: 56
LT Justin Skule: 56
LG Donovan Jackson: 56
C Ryan Kelly: 56
RG Will Fries: 56
RT Brian O’Neill: 56
WR Justin Jefferson: 55
WR Jalen Nailor: 49
TE T.J. Hockenson: 45
WR Adam Thielen: 32
RB Jordan Mason: 30
RB Aaron Jones: 28
TE Josh Oliver: 27
TE Ben Yurosek: 10
WR Tim Jones: 3
OL Blake Brandel: 1
Top 5 PFF grades on offense (min. 20 snaps)
- O’Neill — 83.2
- Kelly — 76.4
- D. Jackson — 74.3
- Mason — 73.2
- A. Jones — 68.4
Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Bears (out of 67)
S Theo Jackson: 67
S Josh Metellus: 67
CB Byron Murphy Jr: 67
CB Isaiah Rodgers: 67
OLB Jonathan Greenard: 62
OLB Andrew Van Ginkel: 61
DT Jonathan Allen: 52
LB Ivan Pace Jr: 47
DT Javon Hargrave: 45
LB Blake Cashman: 43
DT Jalen Redmond: 32
OLB Dallas Turner: 29
S Jay Ward: 25
LB Eric Wilson: 25
DT Levi Drake Rodriguez: 20
CB Jeff Okudah: 16
DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins: 10
S Tavierre Thomas: 2
Top 5 PFF grades on defense (min. 20 snaps)
- Ward — 77.1
- Metellus — 75.6
- Rodriguez — 71.3
- Greenard — 65.9
- Van Ginkel — 65.2
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