For the Minnesota Vikings, it’s been a roller coaster ride with quarterback J.J. McCarthy running the show.
There have been moments where McCarthy takes over the fourth quarter and helps the Vikings win impressive games. Other moments show a young and inexperienced second-year quarterback who is still trying to figure things out, but does it all fall on him, or is his head coach, Kevin O’Connell, holding him back?
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis wrote about some of the struggles with McCarthy in his four starts at quarterback. Lewis indicated that, based on the play calls that O’Connell is making, he may not necessarily trust his young signal caller to bomb the ball down the field.
” The 2025 team is not built to play from behind. To do that, you have to have a consistent dropback passing game. Right now, the Vikings don’t.
O’Connell hasn’t explicitly stated this, but the film seems to suggest that the Vikings want to limit second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy from having to make big-time throws into traffic over the middle of the field. It’s a sensible approach, but one that requires an elite level of early-down efficiency.
That’s why a greater reliance on the run game is so important. It’s also why the five false starts Sunday in first-and-10 situations against the Baltimore Ravens were so painful.”
Should Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell let J.J. McCarthy rip it on the field?
Last season, the Vikings seemed to be in a much better position in the passing game with Sam Darnold than J.J. McCarthy, as O’Connell had more trust in his veteran. Darnold has more air yards per reception in 2024 (8.8) than McCarthy has this season (7.5).
The key aspect with O’Connell is that he has placed more trust in Darnold due to his improved decision-making, which is something McCarthy has been working on. Darnold only had 10 passes batted down in 17 starts with the Vikings last year, but McCarthy has had nine in his four starts. Also, Darnold threw the ball away more with 29 and had 13 interceptions. McCarthy only has three throwaways and has thrown six interceptions.
From O’Connell’s perspective, he is trying to protect his young quarterback from making too many mistakes on the field. The fewer turnovers they have, the better their chances of winning games.
With that being said, McCarthy has lacked the chance to throw deep ball passes. Their best receiver, Justin Jefferson, had his longest reception in the 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at only 11 yards. Most of the big plays the Vikings have had are coming after the catch.
If O’Connell wants any shot at his team making the postseason with the Vikings now in last place in the NFC North, he’s going to have to trust McCarthy to throw it longer. Otherwise, Minnesota will be left out of the postseason, and questions will arise about McCarthy’s ability to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers denies Cris Collinsworth suggestion he prevented Darnell Washington from playing tackle
If you’ve watched a Pittsburgh Steelers game this year, chances are you’ve heard the announcers talk about 300-pound tight end Darnell Washington. And chances are, at one point or another, the announcers mentioned that Washington, given his size, might move to offensive tackle later in his career.
But right now, the Georgia product is a weapon for the Steelers in heavy packages, both catching passes and run-blocking.
So it was interesting last Sunday when NBC’s lead NFL analyst Cris Collinsworth suggested it was Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers who prevented a more immediate move to the offensive line for Washington. Collinsworth said if it weren’t for Rodgers’ insistence on using Washington as a weapon at tight end, he would’ve ended up at tackle for the Steelers.
That was news to Rodgers, who was asked about the situation during a press availability on Wednesday.
Apparently, there was never a plan to move Washington to tackle after all. According to Steelers beat reporter Brooke Pryor, Rodgers said “definitively” that he did not insist on Washington remaining at tight end, and there were no plans to move him to tackle this season. It appears Collinsworth was fed some bogus information.
Throughout Washington’s development in Pittsburgh, there’s been chatter about a possible switch to tackle. However, that discussion has always been couched with the caveat that this move would happen later in his career, perhaps when he is no longer mobile enough to be an effective tight end.
Rodgers surely has good reason to keep Washington put; he’s been an effective weapon for the veteran quarterback thus far. But the organization seemingly didn’t need any convincing on that front either, as Collinsworth posed.
