Vikings Head Coach Must Now Solve 1 Central Riddle
Safe to say, folks, that J.J. McCarthy still has room to improve (as some cautioned). To begin his NFL career, McCarthy led the Vikings on a pair of 3-and-out drives that ended with him taking a sack on each 3rd Down.
Just how fast can Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell rectify the issue? Well, within the game itself, it turns out.
The opening half for O’Connell’s new passer was uninspiring, to say the least. Just six points (tip of the cap to you, Will Reichard) as McCarthy completed 5/8 passes for 48 yards. By the end of the game, McCarthy found himself at 13/20 passing — 65% — for 143 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. There was then 25 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Chicago let the game slip away, losing 27-24 in a one they should have won.
Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell with a Riddle to Solve
Once the NFL gets moving, things don’t slow down for a little while.
Mr. McCarthy was thrown into his first ever NFL game on the road and in prime time. Adding to the pressure was the NFC North rivalry alongside the build up of being absent from the field for a full year. He was imperfect, to say the least, but there’s no hitting pause. The emotional high will have to roll over into some quick preparation. Next up is yet another prime time game. Kirk Cousins — the well-paid backup passer — is returning to U.S. Bank Stadium once again while McCarthy tries to put together a sharper performance.
A basic observation: being 1-0 feels quite a bit different from 0-1, doesn’t it? Losing the game seemed like a foregone conclusion until McCarthy’s magical 4th.
While McCarthy was figuring out how to take steps in the NFL, the Bears were keeping the Vikings in the game with a lack of discipline. Chicago committed several infractions, finishing up with a whopping 12 penalties for 127 yards (several questionable calls got layered in there). Presumably, Ben Johnson is going to be doing commercials for Aspirin soon since he’s moving toward being their top customer with the headache he inherited.
Just move through the numbers to get a sense of how the game was somehow saved.
Justin Jefferson finished his day with 4 catches, 44 yards, and 1 touchdown. Not nearly good enough — some of that being his fault — but enough to claim victory within the imperfect Monday in The Windy City. T.J. Hockenson had 3 catches for 15 yards while Adam Thielen only had his 2-point conversion. Jordan Mason was solid, turning 15 carries into 68 yards to help a sluggish running game get going at the perfect time.
Very little went right, at least initially. The Chicago crowd sounded loud. J.J. McCarthy didn’t do a ton to quiet the passionate football fans of Illinois, at least initially.
There were moments when the 22-year-old struggled to get the ball snapped on time, leading to delay of game penalties. There were moments when he failed to escape the pressure on a night when it felt like Caleb Williams couldn’t possibly be tackled. There were moments when he just looked skittish, uncomfortable within a team that had gone to great lengths to make him comfortable.
Kevin O’Connell — the one so commonly praised as the quarterback whisperer — needed to find a way of calming things down. Kevin O’Connell needed to blow courage into McCarthy’s backbone. Kevin O’Connell needed to integrate all of those promising playmakers — Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Adam Thielen, Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, and others — so that an offense that should be driving at 100 MPH wasn’t stuck in neutral.
Kevin O’Connell, in short, needed to rebuild a quarterback who was getting dismantled to get his NFL career off the ground. All it took was three quarters of work before things began to click. Can he get McCarthy to begin performing like he’s capable of performing from the outset of the next game?
That’s the riddle that will be lingering inside of TCO Performance Center. Don’t just sustain success — crucial — but spark success from the opening play of the game onward.
The Falcons game arrives on Sunday, September 14th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. CT.
All eyes are going to be on J.J. McCarthy. Kevin O’Connell will need to ensure the kid QB is ready. Solve the riddle now and throughout the week so that next Sunday night is a touch less stressful.
