The Minnesota Vikings decided to play J.J. McCarthy one quarter in their 13-3 preseason game loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 22 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Moreover, after McCarthy left the contest, Carson Wentz took over for a quarter, and it was Max Brosmer who finished the game for Minnesota against Baltimore. Nonetheless, Phil Mackey of “Purple Daily” was puzzled by head coach Kevin O’Connell’s decision to let McCarthy play one quarter.
Mackey added that McCarthy lacks reps given his limited number of games played, and now is the time to give him those reps rather than split them with Wentz, who is a veteran.
“I don’t know why they drew up the quarterback plan the way that they did today, with J.J. McCarthy playing the first quarter, Carson Wentz playing the second quarter and then an entire half of Max Brosmer,” Mackey said on the Aug. 22 edition of “Purple Daily” after the Vikings’ loss to the Ravens. “What value do you gain out of that?
“You want J.J. McCarthy to play as many reps as possible. He’s behind on reps. It’s been two years, and the biggest criticism, rightfully so, is that he needs reps. He didn’t throw the ball a ton in college. He didn’t practice at all his rookie season after the injury, and it was stops and starts with injuries last year.”
During his time on the field, McCarthy went 5-for-10 on his pass attempts for 81 passing yards and one sack. 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.
Kevin O’Connell Might Have Planned J.J. McCarthy Decision
Injury might explain why McCarthy didn’t cause the Vikings to change plans and give him a longer look, too. McCarthy was sacked once and took several other hits, with the Ravens broadcast noting that he appeared to be “wincing” on the sideline following his final drive, per Pro Football Talk.
Meanwhile, on the same postgame episode, Judd Zulgad noted that this was probably the game plan for O’Connell.
“The only thing I could figure is that they were going to play the third team starting in the third quarter, and they didn’t think it would be any use to play Wentz or McCarthy with the third team,” Zulgad added. “So they wanted to get them as many second-team reps as possible and then get the second team out. Again, that’s up for debate and a total guess on my part.”
Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy Gets Positive Message After Losing QB Battle
While McCarthy needs to be ready for when his opportunity comes, Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports isn’t giving up on the Vikings QB and believes that he can still be a starter.
“I’m still a J.J. McCarthy guy,” Portnoy said on the Aug. 17 edition of “Wake Up Barstool.” “Kyler Murray’s super talented. We’ll see how it goes… Anybody who prepares and loves football as much as he does and has the track record and the pedigree, is his career done in Minnesota?
“Listen, guys get hurt all the time in the NFL. Maybe he’ll be back in Minnesota. He’ll definitely have another starting job, whether it’s in Minnesota or not. He says he loves it there… J.J. McCarthy’s career is far from over. So, what does J.J. McCarthy’s future in Minnesota look like? That I don’t know. I mean, he’s gonna start here again for sure.”
Vikings Get Harsh Message on J.J. McCarthy Decision After Loss