The Ravens game is getting analyzed to death. It was an awful performance with some bright spots. The biggest issue for me is the accuracy of JJ McCarthy. That is the one area that needs to improve as soon as possible. He is still young and does not have many snaps under his belt but you want to hope he would be more accurate. He does have some really great throws though. This gives hope for the future. I suspect he will continue to get better and better every game even if he is inaccurate or throws picks. Every experience is necessary. It is worth noting that Jaxon Smith-Njigba is leading the NFL in yards playing with Sam Darnold who is having another great regular season. Justin Jefferson no doubt sees this. It is good to have the rookie scale QB but also good to have JJ’s contract pay dividends too. There is the rub no?
This week’s game is a must win if the Vikings want to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. I suspect they will have a pretty dang good performance offensively after the last game.
Note: Beware! The links provided below have not been put through any filter or an approvals process (if it even exists).
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the Minnesota Vikings’ offense, and a lot of that boils down to head coach Kevin O’Connell’s play-calling.
One of the biggest issues for the Vikings has been their short-yardage play-calling. With J.J. McCarthy under center, they have yet to convert a third and short through the air with a completion on 14 attempts. That’s a crazy number when you think about it, but there is a difference between looking at the stats from a macro perspective and looking at the micro of each individual play call.
…
When discussing play-calling, many focus solely on a results-based approach. It’s still way more complicated than whether or not it was a run or a pass.
“I think you have to establish what we are talking about from a standpoint of third and ones, third and twos, third and threes, third and two to five,” said O’Connell. “How defenses are going to align, based upon the front structures that they want to kind of get in.”
…
“We’ve had multiple runs called in those situations where parameters take us out of those looks, or we have a run-pass solution on them, and we’ve converted,” said O’Connell. “We’ve had multiple run plays called on early downs where we’ve thrown the ball and got an 11-yard completion, got a nine-yard completion, and we look at those as statistically part of the run game. I know that doesn’t necessarily fall under that category as a whole, but there’s no question, we’ve had success, specifically this year, in the short yardage situations.”
This is one aspect that doesn’t get discussed enough. When O’Connell calls a play, McCarthy has two at his disposal. He can “can” the play by shouting it out and using both hands to hit his helmet, changing the call to the other play given in the huddle. It’s part of the reason why the passing numbers were so high against the Ravens in neutral situations, with 25 passes and 11 runs without having to worry about the clock or being down two scores.
Ultimately, it all comes down to execution.
“Whether it’s the third 1/3, and one chance against Atlanta early on in the year, or the third and one from the other day [Jalen Nailor 62-yard catch], you as a head coach, a play-caller, I can’t really make the decision based upon missing an open player or having Justin [Jefferson] one on one for really the only time all day,” said O’Connell. “And the last thing you think that’s going to do is end up in an interception, where you have that run play in mind for fourth and one. That’s kind of like the quarterback discussion.”
If you believe that your players can make the play on the field, you call the play. It’s not always about what we see on Sundays, but what the coaching staff sees during the week at practice.
“Play-calling is something that we put a lot of work into as a staff, and I put a lot of work into it. And it’s a results-based thing, play-to-play, game-to-game, [I’m] well aware of that,” said O’Connell. “But that does not mean that I’m not always evaluating the best way to play every snap sequence of games, and ultimately, what’s best for this team this year. And I’m doing that, and I think you’ll see some things reflected in that, but also the defense has a hand in it as well, and the last thing you want to do is just do it [run the ball] for the sake of doing it and then have it be not as productive as you would hope, just to get some things in a column somewhere, statistical call.”
Lunchbreak: ESPN Takes Longer Look at 2024 First-Round QBs
Here’s the brunt of what Solak wrote about McCarthy:
For McCarthy, the difficulties are more excusable. In only his fourth career start, he once again looked comfortable on script but quickly spiraled out of control as the training wheels left the offense. On the season, McCarthy averages 0.18 EPA per dropback on the first two drives of games – drives that we can confidently say are scripted – and minus-0.03 on all other drives. His success rate drops from 47% to 35%.
I have no interest in writing anything concrete about McCarthy, as I wrote last week after the Vikings win over the Lions. He simply has not played enough football. The product so far is worrisome – high sack rate, high interception rate and a lengthy time to throw are all indicators of a young passer overwhelmed by NFL speed. Of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 class, none has had a stretch as statistically poor or as visibly concerning as McCarthy this season. But we’ll tread water on him for now.
…
To add to his study of the second-year quarterbacks, here is a snapshot of how each of the six fared in their first four full starts (remember, performance separation can be affected by a range of facets, including but definitely not limited to coaching, play-calling, supporting casts, health and systematic fits).
Williams (1st overall pick): 87-for-141 passing (61.7%), 216.5 total YPG, 3 TD & 4 INT, 16 sacks
Daniels (2nd): 87-for-106 (82.%), 235.8 total YPG, 7 TD (four rushing) & 1 INT, 9 sacks
Maye (3rd): 90-for-136 (66.2%), 271 total YPG, 8 TD (one rushing) & 5 INT, 11 sacks
Penix (8th): 85-for-142 (59.9%), 266.8 total YPG, 6 TD (two rushing) & 3 INT, 4 sacks
McCarthy (10th): 58-for-108 (53.7%), 200.5 total YPG, 7 TD (two rushing) & 6 INT, 15 sacks
Nix (12th): 83-for-138 (60.1%), 192.5 total YPG, 3 TD (two rushing) & 4 INT, 4 sacks
Bears QB Caleb Williams Draws Blunt Words From Vikings
Ahead of the Week 11 game, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was asked about Williams’ ability to help Chicago come out on top in their close games.
“He’s proven that in those moments he’s come up big multiple times,” Flores told reporters on November 11. “It looks like he thrives in those situations, which for a young quarterback is certainly an area you want to see.
“For us, we know that when it comes down to those moments—which most NFL games do—we’ve got to be at our best because he’s going to be at his best, and so are they. It’s a division game, so that’s probably what it’s going to be: A 60-minute battle. We’ve got to prepare the right way. It’s going to be a big challenge.”
Flores and his unit likely know what to expect from Williams at this point, but they might be facing a Bears star who isn’t afraid of the pressure moments now. Nonetheless, former NFL coach Dave Wannstedt has sent a warning to the Vikings’ defense ahead of their contest on November 16.
“The last two minutes of the game [against the New York Giants], I’ll tell you what, the first thought that comes to my mind is Caleb Williams almost performs better when he’s under pressure than when he’s in the flow of the game, if that makes sense,” Wannstedt said on November 9 on Marquee Sports Network. “You talk about avoiding the rush. I think the guy avoided six sacks today. Not just sacks where guys ran by, I’m talking about where they had a hand on him.
“It’s just incredible what he can do to keep a play alive. And these are unscripted plays. If you’re a wide receiver, tight end, or running back on our team, we’re going to call the play in the huddle. This is it. This is what we’re all trying to do. Everybody got it? Good.”
Vikings have free agent QB decision to make involving J.J. McCarthy
The quarterback position, obviously, is massively important. And while the Vikings have hitched their horses to J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick from the 2024 draft, he’s barely been on the field.
Through Week 10 of the 2025 season, McCarthy has made four starts.
“I’d still be surprised if the Vikings really knew, even privately, whether McCarthy was going to pan out as their starter of the future … because again, it has been four starts,” writes ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.
Barnwell goes on to explain how this should impact Minnesota’s offseason plans.
The free agent market (or potentially a cheap trade) could be pivotal to giving McCarthy a capable backup.
“What does seem clear, though, is that the Vikings should be more aggressive in having someone behind McCarthy to both compete with him for the starting job in 2026 and fill in for the 2024 first-round pick in case he battles more injuries,” Barnwell writes. “Darnold was the Minnesota quarterback in 2024 and performed admirably in McCarthy’s absence, but Carson Wentz wasn’t quite as effective while dealing with his shoulder injury this season. The Vikings acquired Sam Howell and then moved on from him without ever seeing him play in a regular-season game; I’d expect a more reliable veteran to be the No. 2 option in 2026.”
Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:
While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm
No discussion of politics or religion
No feeding of the trolls
Leave the gender hatred at the door
Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
See More:
