CBS Sports Updates QB Rankings After McCarthy’s Two-Game Stretch
CBS Sports moved Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy up six spots in its latest quarterback rankings following his back-to-back performances against Washington and Dallas. The sophomore signal-caller, who now has eight career starts, climbed from 32nd to 26th in Garrett Podell’s updated list after scoring six touchdowns over the last two games.
J.J. McCarthy Moves Up Six Spots
Last Sunday, McCarthy entered a primetime game in Dallas, with the eyes of the nation on him. He delivered, scoring three touchdowns en route to kicking the Cowboys virtually out of the playoff race. That performance came seven days after his (until Sunday) best game as a pro against the Washington Commanders.
Despite beating the Commanders, Garrett Podell of CBS Sports ranked McCarthy dead last among 32 NFL quarterbacks a week ago. That list included Philip Rivers, who nobody had seen playing football in nearly five years.
In his updated version, Minnesota’s captain climbed to 26 — a significant jump of six spots.
Podell wrote, “McCarthy has found some success, throwing six passing touchdowns to just one interception against two of the NFL’s worst defenses in the Washington Commanders and the Dallas Cowboys the last two weeks. However, he still has a long way to go as he ranks dead last in the NFL in completion percentage (56.8%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (11-11) and passer rating (72.1) this season among 32 qualified quarterbacks.”
The overall season statistics remain among the worst for passers in the league, but he has displayed some real growth over his last eight quarters. Having faced subpar defenses has been a popular point of criticism to diminish McCarthy’s play. The good news is that he produced two of his most efficient performances of the season against the Commanders and the Cowboys, totally taking the teeth out of that item.
In the rankings, he received some help from a Patrick Mahomes knee injury. McCarthy is listed ahead of backup Gardner Minshew, while Mahomes dropped out. New Dolphins starter Quinn Ewers, Raiders’ Kenny Pickett, Cleveland’s Shedeur Sanders, and New York’s Brady Cook are others he snuck by.
And finally, he passed 44-year-old Rivers, who is now 27th.
Marcus Mariota and Cam Ward would be his next targets.
McCarthy’s season has been strange to say the least. After missing his entire rookie campaign with a knee injury, he was asked to take over for departed Sam Darnold. In his first game of the season, McCarthy struggled badly, but turned it around in the fourth quarter to complete a comeback with three touchdowns.
A week later, McCarthy fell apart on national television and picked up an ankle injury that would cost him the following five games. After returning from his stint on the sidelines, his play didn’t show any improvement, and he ultimately even suffered a concussion that led to the Max Brosmer disaster.
The concussion cost him one game, and he has been outstanding since returning. McCarthy was already rumored to be replaced by various quarterbacks, but he now has three more games to confirm his strong play from the last two. His next opponent will be the New York Giants, followed by the Detroit Lions on Christmas, and the Green Bay Packers in the season closer.
McCarthy, 22, showed over the last two outings why the Vikings spent the tenth overall pick to get their hands on him. Three more solid weeks and there’s real hope for the future.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.