J.J. McCarthy Got Hit With the Ultimate Disrespect
The Minnesota Vikings put all the QB eggs in the J.J. McCarthy basket when they chose to go forward with him as the QB1 over Sam Darnold or Aaron Rodgers. It’s not too early to say that the decision backfired, at least for the 2025 campaign. McCarthy’s first six games were mostly bad, but he showed some positive signs in his seventh start.
J.J. McCarthy Got Hit With the Ultimate Disrespect
Despite those positive signs, he’s still not out of the woods. Though encouraging, his case requires more patience. At least he has freed himself from “the worst QB ever” debates.
Yet, even after his three-touchdown game, he hasn’t climbed much in quarterback rankings. CBS Sports‘ Garrett Podell updated his weekly QB Power Rankings. McCarthy remained 32nd — dead last.
The analyst explained, “McCarthy had the best start of his young career in a 31-0 win over the Washington Commanders: 163 yards and three touchdown passes on 16 of 23 passing. However, he still has a long way to go as he ranks dead last in the NFL in completion percentage (56%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (9-10, 0.9) and passer rating (67.4) this season among 34 qualified quarterbacks.”
The sophomore had an electric fourth quarter in his NFL debut after struggling in the first three. In his next contest against the Falcons, he metaphorically fell apart and suffered an ankle injury that would cost him the following five games.
The next time he took the field, he ended Detroit’s winning streak against the purple rivals with a decent performance. Games against the Ravens, Packers, and Bears were pretty bad again, and a concussion highlighted his durability concerns. Few players have ever needed a satisfactory game as McCarthy did in his matchup against the underwhelming Washington defense.
But he did what the Vikings asked of him that day. Paired with a strong running attack, McCarthy delivered passes on time and accurately, turning into a game-manager rather than the indecisive and inaccurate big-play hunter from his first half-dozen games.
Staying in last place isn’t the worst part. He was immediately jumped by a quarterback who hasn’t played in five years. Indeed, Philip Rivers ranks 31st.
Podell’s words, “The Indianapolis Colts are down bad after Daniel Jones’ season-ending Achilles injury. How down bad? They signed 44-year-old husk of Philip Rivers off the couch on Tuesday. He’ll potentially start for the Colts for the first time since he last played in 2020. If he does start against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15, Rivers would become the first 40-plus-year-old quarterback to play with at least 1,800 days between starts. Time to find out how much the eight-time Pro Bowler has left.”
There’s a reason Tom Brady’s career, through his mid-40s, was so unique: quarterbacks lose arm strength over time. Even (borderline) Hall of Famers like Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger ultimately failed to push the ball downfield or into tight windows, and they also lost some accuracy points, slowly turning into liabilities.
Rivers last played for the Colts in 2020, registering 24 touchdowns and 11 picks, one year after registering 23 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He was still effective, but after nearly five years, it’s fair to wonder if he still has the arm to play in the NFL, let alone the rust he has probably collected over the years.
The bottom line is McCarthy’s subpar play throughout the season put him in a hole he can’t get out of with just one good game. He needs to put together a streak of three or four solid performances to be taken seriously.
Ranking below a 44-year-old who hasn’t played football since January of 2021 isn’t ideal. McCarthy has the chance to prove Podell (and all other doubters) wrong in Sunday’s primetime meeting with the Dallas Cowboys.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.