Not much has gone right for J.J. McCarthy this season. He missed a month and a half with a high ankle sprain in the early stages, then struggled mightily with his mechanics upon his return to the field.
It hit a potential breaking point a couple of weeks ago when McCarthy looked completely overwhelmed while the Vikings got blown out by the Green Bay Packers. He suffered a concussion in the process. Some started to question the viability of him playing the position long term.
That’s why McCarthy’s performance on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium felt so important. He got some swagger back as the Vikings ran away with a 31-0 win over the Washington Commanders.
It was a complete effort across the board for the Vikings as the offense moved the ball efficiently through the air and on the ground, while the defense forced a trio of turnovers en route to posting a shutout.
That said, McCarthy’s growth felt like the biggest takeaway after the game, even if it wasn’t a particularly sexy stat line for him. He completed 16 of 23 passes for 163 yards and a trio of touchdowns. The most encouraging part might have been the simple fact that he didn’t turn the ball over.
“I feel like we were able to stack positive plays,” McCarthy said. “That’s something that’s going to win us a lot of football games and we’ve got to continue to strive to do that.”
That’s been easier said than done for the Vikings this season as McCarthy has fallen victim to paralysis by analysis on multiple occasions. He hasn’t just looked like he’s overthinking. He has played like he’s overthinking.
That prompted Kevin O’Connell to look himself in the mirror this week and simplify the offense in a way that he felt gave McCarthy the best chance to succeed. It worked as McCarthy was much decisive when he dropped back to pass, which, in turn, helped him be much more accurate when he let it rip.
“He’s at his best when there’s conviction,” O’Connell said. “You can feel his fundamentals and techniques pair together because he’s got conviction with what he’s going to do with the ball.”
That conviction was on display from the onset as the Vikings won the coin toss and chose to receive with hopes of getting off to the fast start that has eluded them too many times this season.
On the opening drive, McCarthy completed 4 of 4 pass attempts for 46 yards, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Josh Oliver up the seam to make it 7-0. The early lead helped the Vikings avoid any thoughts of, “Here we go again.”
“I didn’t want to allow that feeling,” O’Connell said. “I trusted our guys to get off to the start that we did and we were able to sustain it.”
The biggest swing of the game came in the immediate aftermath.
After forcing a turnover on downs near their own goal line, the Vikings proceeded to put together a remarkable 19-play, 98-yard drive that took 12 minutes, 1 seconds off the clock, capping it with Jordan Mason finding pay dirt make it 14-0. That marked the longest drive by the Vikings since at least 2000 and tied for the longest touchdown drive in the NFL this season.
“It was awesome,” McCarthy said. “We can’t wait to go do it again. The boys were huffing and puffing. It’s good that we were conditioned and prepared for that moment.”
It turned into rout for the Vikings after halftime, as Andrew Van Ginkel picked off a screen pass near the line of scrimmage like he’s been known to do to help set up Will Reichard for a field goal that made it 17-0.
On the next drive, Harrison Smith got in on the action for the Vikings, intercepting Marcus Mariota, who came on for the Commanders in relief of Jayden Daniels. That splash play from the defense put the offense in position to score again, and McCarthy threw another touchdown pass to Oliver, as the Vikings stretched their lead to 24-0.
As the game wound to a close, the Vikings padded their stats when McCarthy threw a touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson to finalize the score at 31-0. The play itself showcased decisiveness from McCarthy as he hit Hockenson on time after Justin Jefferson cleared out a defender in the end zone.
“He was poised,” Jefferson said when asked about McCarthy after the game. “Not really overly hyped. Not too mellow. I feel like he was cool, calm, and collected the whole game and he led us to this victory for sure.”
Will this go down as a moment everything changed for McCarthy in his career? That remains to be seen. In a campaign largely devoid of bright spots, however, he will take a win any way he can get it.
“I always knew I had that and I always knew the potential was there,” McCarthy said. “I’m looking at it right now like there’s so many ways I can get better because I’m so far from where I want to be.”
As for if it was validating to have some success, McCarthy provided an alternative perspective.
“It’s something that I feel like should’ve happened a lot earlier,” McCarthy said. “I absolutely love those guys for the grace and patience they’ve had with me. Now we’ve got to do it again. Let’s keep this rolling.”
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