Vikings QB JJ McCarthy Gets More Bad News After First Two Starts

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was given the keys to the Minnesota Vikings’ offense for this season, and in his first season as an NFL player (he missed what would’ve been his rookie season last year due to a meniscus injury), he isn’t quite getting the job done.

He didn’t do too badly in Week 1 versus the Chicago Bears when he completed 13 of 20 pass attempts and threw two touchdown passes and one interception in a 27-24 win. But this past Sunday, he went 11 of 21 and had no touchdown passes and two interceptions while getting sacked six times against the Atlanta Falcons.

The fact that he did so poorly versus the second-rate Falcons is raising alarm bells. Even worse, as a tweet from The Purple Persuasion pointed out, he currently ranks at or near the bottom of the NFL in several key metrics among quarterbacks.

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McCarthy was a fairly highly regarded player when he was at the University of Michigan. In his junior season there, he completed a Big Ten-high 72.3% of his pass attempts and threw for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions as he led the school to the NCAA championship.

At the same time, there were real questions about whether McCarthy, who was the No. 10 pick in last year’s draft, would thrive in the pass-happy NFL. With the Wolverines, he played under coach Jim Harbaugh, who has always employed a pound-and-ground offense that is very run-heavy.

That isn’t exactly the type of offense Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell likes to use. With big weapons such as wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (who is currently serving a three-game suspension), as well as tight end T.J. Hockenson, the team is best suited to letting the football fly downfield.

Now that McCarthy will miss several weeks due to a sprained ankle, Minnesota will get a chance to see how much of its issues fall on him. Veteran Carson Wentz is expected to start under center, but the team could also turn to Desmond Ridder, whom it signed this week, or even rookie Max Brosmer.

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The Vikings are in even more trouble now that it has also been revealed that running back Aaron Jones will miss at least four more games after being placed on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury. It is doubly bad news for a team that plays in one of the NFL‘s toughest divisions.

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