From detailed breakdowns of his flawed mechanics to his own talk about rewiring “neurological pathways” to change the way he has been ingrained to play, the discourse around Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy hit a different pitch in recent days.
While the final seven games are incredibly important to prove he can be the guy for the Vikings, this is where we all need a reminder that McCarthy has five NFL starts under his belt. For some perspective, that’s the same number of starts Marcus Mariota has made in place of an injured Jayden Daniels for the Washington Commanders this season.
As the Vikings cling to fading playoff hopes, the spotlight on McCarthy is at a different level just in time for his first start against the hated rival Green Bay Packers. If he plays poorly and the Vikings leave Wisconsin with a bad loss, fans who have been patient to this point may start to lose faith that he can get on the right track.
Analyst thinks J.J. McCarthy is in a get-right spot vs. Packers
As part of his bold predictions for Week 12, Garrett Podell of CBS Sports put a get-right game in the offing for McCarthy.
“Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy throws for over 200 yards vs. Packers’ top 10 defense”
Over 200 yards obviously doesn’t seem like much, but Green Bay is allowing 195.3 passing yards per game this season (10th-best in the league). Just one quarterback all season (Dak Prescott) has topped 240 yards through the air against them.
As Podell noted, McCarthy has been riding the “struggle bus”, with at least one interception in all five of his starts and less than 200 passing yards in four of the five. And on paper, the matchup against Green Bay is not good.
But the biggest reason the Vikings’ young signal caller can have a get-right game is obvious.
“The reason why is because the cornerback position is the one position on the Packers’ defense that is truly vulnerable. Vikings wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison should be able to break free for enough bombs against Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine to get McCarthy over 200 yards passing on Sunday.”
An interesting tentacle of Podell’s prediction, with Sunday’s game, of course, being at Lambeau Field, is how much better McCarthy has played on the road compared to at home.
In his two starts outside Minnesota thus far, McCarthy has completed 60 percent of his passes with six total touchdowns (four passing, two rushing), just two interceptions, and an 89.7 passer rating. In his three home starts, he has a 49.5 percent completion rate, two touchdown passes, six interceptions, and a 48.4 passer rating.
Beyond the yardage total, Podell thinks he’ll get to, McCarthy has to be more accurate and take care of the football on Sunday. If that 200-plus yards through the air is combined with a clean sheet in the interception column, and far fewer (if any) inexplicable misfired throws, the Vikings will have a great chance to win.
