5 Quick Takeaways from the Vikings’ Week 15 Victory
The Minnesota Vikings entered the Week 15 contest in primetime without any playoff scenarios left. Kevin O’Connell’s squad had been eliminated by Chicago’s victory over the Cleveland Browns. However, they certainly came to play and delivered a sweet victory in front of a national audience.
5 Quick Takeaways from the Vikings’ Week 15 Victory
Here’s what we’ve learned.
1. Maybe J.J. McCarthy Can Play
Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy was coming off his best performance as a pro and all he did was play even better. His counting statistics look average with 250 passing yards, two touchdowns through the air and one interception, but the advanced numbers loved the game.
McCarthy contributed an EPA/Play of 0.54. For those unfamiliar, that’s pretty much an elite number. His 15.4 expected points added place him at the top of all Vikings QB performances this season.
The young passer hit some explosive passes, smartly checked the ball down when it was needed, and took advantage of his athleticism a few times.
McCarthy wasn’t flawless in his eighth career start, but he certainly looked like an NFL quarterback with enormous potential. That was the kind of player the Vikings spent a first-round pick to acquire. He has three more games on the schedule to prove that he should be the QB1 moving forward. Sunday was the kind of contest a bad QB usually can’t provide.
2. Jalen Nailor Is a Priority
In the last offseason, the Vikings drafted Tai Felton in the third round and everyone thought he would replace Jalen Nailor sooner rather than later. Nailor, in his contract season, has shown that he’s a reliable target.
Perhaps even more important is that he is clearly the target McCarthy is most comfortable with. He hasn’t found a connection with Jefferson, but the Nailor pairing is firing on all cylinders. On Sunday, he caught two touchdown passes.
It didn’t seem likely a few months ago that the Vikings would entertain extending his contract, but there’s no way they can let the QB’s favorite target leave.
3. Will Reichard Is a Star
Potentially the best player of the team all year, Will Reichard was excellent once again. The second-year kicker hit all four extra points and both field goals, one was a 53-yarder.
In the duel with star kicker Brandon Aubrey, Reichard outplayed the two-time All-Pro and looked like he should be on the NFC Pro Bowl ballot.
Reichard has now connected on all 27 extra points this season while hitting 24 of 26 field goal attempts.
His holder, Ryan Wright, deserves a shoutout. He punted only twice, but with an average of 56 yards and a long of 65, while landing both in the 20. That’s another All-Star worthy performance.
4. The Defense Didn’t Break
Dallas has one of the league’s most explosive offenses, led by quarterback Dak Prescott and the receiving duo of Georgie Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. Ultimately, the Cowboys produced 423 yards (96 more than the Vikings), but the defensive unit, which certainly bent, didn’t break.
Prescott was pressured on nearly every other dropback, and the coverage unit had a surprisingly good day against his receivers.
Aubrey attempted six field goals as Brian Flores’ group made several stops. And when the offense doesn’t put them in bad positions and plays complementary football, the team might actually be decent.
5. It’s Over, But It’s Encouraging
The Vikings are 6-8 and won’t play meaningful football to close out the season, at least when it comes to the playoffs. Sunday’s game was undoubtedly meaningful because McCarthy showed that he can be a quarterback in this league.
They played on national television in a meaningless road game against a team that still had something to play for and just executed at a high level. That outing deserves some respect.
As players and coaches play for their jobs, numerous guys won the day.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.