The Minnesota Vikings’ 24-23 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and afterward, head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked if rookie J.J. McCarthy had done enough to at least speed up his timeline on becoming the starting quarterback.
McCarthy took over for starter Sam Darnold on the Vikings’ second offensive possession and finished with 118 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception on 64.7% completion.
But O’Connell is sticking to his plan for the youngster and shows no sign of budging.
“I’m just looking for him to improve, look comfortable in our system,” O’Connell told reporters on August 10. “Like I said at the very beginning, no ceiling or no floor. But at the same time, I think we want to be smart about that development and make sure that his training camp is absolutely going into plan. Whether it’s reps with the 1s, competitive reps – 2s versus the 1 defense – and these critical preseason snaps.”
McCarthy’s first drive ended in the interception, with the quarterback rolling out under duress and throwing off of one foot.
JJ McCarthy's first NFL Drive ends in an interception #NFL #SKOL pic.twitter.com/GL7ZZC5gln
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhiferNFL) August 10, 2024
“I think next week in Cleveland, the joint practices will be huge for him, like it will be for our whole team,” O’Connell said. “Really looking forward to going to play a really physical, tough team. I think Kevin [Stefanski] does an unbelievable job as a head coach. And we’ve put together two really good days of work. So although this was a game thank … I do look at it as just another glorified kind of singular step in the process.”
O’Connell previously joked about being known as a “quarterback killer” around the team’s facilities. He said he has shut down previous interest in other players.
He prefers a methodical approach to developing young quarterbacks.
“I do very much believe in certain principles of playing the quarterback position. I believe the footwork in the lower half of any quarterback can be fixed with the proper coaching and teaching,” O’Connell said at a “Faith & Life” conference on April 18.
“When you see the good things on tape, you see things that they can do better on tape. You’re looking for a lot of different things and to check a lot of boxes.”
J.J. McCarthy Gets Honest About Early Interception in Vikings Win
McCarthy was 1-for-3 with 18 passing yards and the interception going into his second possession. He completed 71.4% of his passes for 100 yards and the two scores and said after the game that the interception settled him down.
His first thought was about the “opportunity” in front of him. He also admitted to being nervous.
“Things in this league things are going to go bad. And it’s your ability to respond and navigate those waters when it does happen. So just being able to have that goldfish memory. Go back out there and just have that “sling it” mentality, which is what I needed,” McCarthy told reporters on August 10.
“After the interception, all those nerves kind of just went out the water and I just felt like I was playing free and having fun again.”
J.J. McCarthy Hypes Up Dam Darnold
“I felt like I could breathe a little bit more after seeing Sam go down there and just dice up that defense, especially the ball to Speedy [Jalen Nailor],” McCarthy said. “It was just such a artistry throw that he had that a lot of people in the quarterback world appreciate. So just seeing him going do that on the first drive it gave me a lot of confidence.”
Darnold finished with 59 yards and went 4-for-8 in his lone drive.
O’Connell has touted his belief that Darnold’s best play is yet to come, and the Vikings also offer one of the best setups for quarterbacks in the league.
McCarthy may one day be the Vikings’ QB1. But he will have to overcome Darnold. Furthermore, Darnold, at least in his limited playing time and throughout training camp, has done nothing to move O’Connell off his stance.
