Ahead of the preseason finale against the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy has one major issue that he needs to clean up if he doesn’t want to fall to QB3 behind veteran Carson Wentz.
During his time on the field in the Baltimore Ravens’ 13-3 win on Aug. 22 at U.S. Bank Stadium, McCarthy went 5-for-10 on his pass attempts for 81 yards, and he was asked once while also taking a few brutal hits.
McCarthy had two costly misses during the game. His first came on the opening play when he couldn’t connect with Myles Price near the sideline. He later missed Price again on a short pass near the goal line.
Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber broke down why McCarthy has struggled with consistency, especially after his most promising play of the game came on a 50-yard pass to Tai Felton.
“I don’t want to use this word,” Leber said on the Aug. 22 edition of “Sound The Horn.” “It sounds very harsh. But that’s the way it feels when McCarthy’s on the field, especially when he’s sensing a blitz or some pressure.
“It feels like, through body language and mechanics, there’s panic going on. There’s a manic nature to the way that he processes what he’s feeling around him. I think sometimes he’s very unsettled when he’s throwing the football.”
Carson Wentz Provides More ‘Smoothness’ to the Offense
Moreover, Leber noted that the feeling of panic he sees in McCarthy when handling pressure is the complete opposite of what he saw when Wentz was out on the field for the Vikings. Wentz took over for McCarthy afterward in the Ravens game, and the veteran signal-caller went 9-for-11 for 92 passing yards and was sacked twice.
“You contrast that with Carson Wentz, who’s much more experienced,“ Leber added. “There’s a smoothness to the way that he sees some of that stuff. He notices that there’s a blitz, but you don’t see that manic, panicked behavior from him, and the ball comes out a little bit smoother, comes out with a little bit more touch.
“We see him in the moments using a toolbox of the types of throws that he’s able to make. He threw a 50-50 ball down the middle of the field as well, where he intentionally puts a lot of loft on the ball.
“Then, a couple plays later, he senses some pressure and he’s got to dump it off into the right flat. He sort of sidearms it and uses that tool in his toolbox to get the ball out, making sure that he doesn’t get a hand on the ball as well. So, in the mode of operation, there just seems to be a lot more smoothness with Carson Wentz.”
J.J. McCarthy Predicted to Fall to Vikings’ QB3
Although McCarthy appears to be QB2, Judd Zulgad of “Purple Daily“ sees things differently. Following the recent loss to the Ravens, Zulgad predicted that Wentz will be the Vikings’ backup behind Kyler Murray.
“McCarthy takes too long with the football, and a lot of times that becomes a problem because that’s why he gets hit,“ Zulgad said in an Aug. 22 video. “But in short, I’m not saying Carson Wentz is great.
“I’m just saying that if he has to play, if Kyler Murray goes out, and that’s certainly a possibility given Murray’s history, Wentz is probably going to give you much more of a baseline and you know what you’re going to get. With J.J. McCarthy, it remains a guessing game, and that’s a problem. That’s why I think he’ll start the season as QB3 in Minnesota.”
Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy Gets Blunt Analysis Before Preseason Finale