After an impressive come-from-behind victory in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, the Minnesota Vikings face a tough stretch ahead following a convincing loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.
The first three quarters of J.J. McCarthy‘s career with the Vikings in the regular season didn’t go as planned. After missing his entire rookie season due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason, McCarthy got back on the field to face the Bears in his official debut and struggled like many rookies tend to.
However, McCarthy put on a brilliant display in the fourth quarter, leading the Vikings to a dramatic comeback win, scoring three touchdowns. Unfortunately for McCarthy, those late-game heroics didn’t return in Week 2, as he struggled against the Falcons and is now dealing with an ankle injury that could sideline him for a month.
McCarthy’s Ankle Injury Puts Vikings In Tough Spot
As a result of McCarthy’s injury, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has been put in a difficult situation, as he’ll have to figure out how to handle the quarterback position moving forward. O’Connell revealed his plan at quarterback heading into Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals after signing journeyman Desmond Ridder.
“Carson [Wentz] will start and Max [Brosmer] will be the backup,” O’Connell said during a team press conference. “With the rules being what they are, with the emergency third quarterback, we wanted to have one based upon just the early aspect of our season. We’re pretty deep into some position groupings as it is, so we wanted to make sure we could at least get a guy that has played before and Desmond [Ridder] had a great workout, and we have known about him a lot going back to evaluating him coming out. He’s been on his journey. It’s just good to get him in, and he’ll be that emergency No. 3 on Sunday and I’m sure he’ll do a great job getting some limited menu together that he feels good about.”
Obviously, the Vikings are not an ideal situation moving forward, nor did they look great over the course of eight quarters with McCarthy running the show under center. However, they will face a team in Week 2 in a similar situation, with Joe Burrow set to miss the next three months due to a toe injury that requires surgery.
The difference is that the Bengals have won their last two games, with backup quarterback Jake Browning leading them to a come-from-behind victory last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Wentz Gets Another Shot As An NFL Starter
GettyCarson Wentz #11 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before a game against the Atlanta Falcons.
As a former No. 2 overall pick, Wentz hasn’t lived up to expectations, as he’s now playing for his sixth team in the NFL after playing his first four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
O’Connell appears confident in his short-term starter at quarterback, while also showing some faith that Brosmer and Ridder can get the job done if needed in Week 2, and while McCarthy is on the mend.
“Excited for Carson to get a full week of preparation, and the way Max has been preparing being two snaps away will probably only be enhanced, and there’s not much more room he can grow from a preparation standpoint other than the physical reps that would come with it, so those guys are both here for a reason and now Desmond is here because he was a guy identified as being a guy that if we get to that scenario we felt like it would be good to have a veteran guy that is still young and growing as a player, but can step in and execute if called upon,” O’Connell said.
Following Week 2’s matchup with the Bengals, the Vikings will head overseas to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, on Sept. 28 before taking on the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 5 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. All three games will put the Vikings to the test and will likely shape the rest of the season for Minnesota.
Kevin O’Connell Reveals Plans for Vikings 3 QBs in Week 3 Against Bengals