The magic of the Minnesota Vikings‘ fourth-quarter comeback over the Chicago Bears washed entirely away less than one week later, as quarterback J.J. McCarthy watched his NFL honeymoon phase end abruptly Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Minnesota mustered just two field goals in a 22-6 loss to the visiting Atlanta Falcons, and the offense looked out of sorts for essentially the entire contest. McCarthy, for his part, stood at the podium following the defeat and accepted full responsibility for the end result.
“Obviously, very disappointing loss. There’s a lot of things that come to my mind of just what we can do to get better. And just wanna give kudos to the defense, I thought they played absolutely outstanding,” McCarthy said. “We’ve gotta do a better job as an offense.”
The 22-year-old quarterback went on to name himself as the primary issue.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of adapting and taking advantage of opportunities when we’re down in red zone to get seven points and not just leave three on the board,” McCarthy continued. “It starts with me. I’ve gotta play better, and we gotta do a better job operating this offense.”
Vikings’ Depleted Offensive Line Played Big Role in Offensive Struggles
GettyVikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (left) and wide receiver Adam Thielen (right)
In fairness to McCarthy, while he played poorly, the Falcons‘ defensive front gobbled up a depleted Vikings’ offensive line over the course of the evening.
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw didn’t play as he continues to rehabilitate from a knee injury he sustained during the middle of last season, while center Ryan Kelly left early and entered concussion protocol. Second-year player and 2024 seventh-round pick Michael Jurgens, who Minnesota drafted as a guard, replaced Kelly in what were the first regular-season snaps of his career.
Atlanta dialed up stunt after stunt, blitzing the Minnesota attack into oblivion in the form of 11 QB hits, six sacks and five tackles for loss. Those quarterback pressure numbers could have, and probably would have, been worse if the Falcons didn’t lose their top cover cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. late in the first half to a hamstring injury.
One of Minnesota’s two field goals came late in the second quarter after a 50-yard connection from McCarthy to wide receiver Justin Jefferson following Terrell’s injury. Atlanta blitzed less in the second half as a result of its lessened ability to cover Vikings‘ pass-catchers in man-schemes, often showing blitz and dropping into zone coverages to protect against big-play strikes.
J.J. McCarthy, Vikings Must Fix Turnover Issues Immediately
GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
All that aside, the Vikings turned the football over four times. McCarthy was responsible for three of those turnovers — two interceptions and a lost fumble.
The fumble was the result of a blocking miscommunication, in which a Falcons edge defender rushed and hit McCarthy completely untouched. As such, it’s difficult to put that mistake on the young QB. However, McCarthy also fumbled on two other occasions, after which Minnesota recovered possession.
Vikings return man Myles Price also lost a fumble on the evening.
Minnesota has now turned over the ball five times in two games and scored a total of 12 points in seven of eight quarters played. The only quality stanza produced by McCarthy and the offense came in the fourth period against Chicago in Week 1, during which the Vikings put up 21 points.
J.J. McCarthy Assigns Blame for Vikings’ Ugly Loss to Falcons