J.J. McCarthy is under a world of purple-colored pressure this coming Sunday when he takes the field for the first time since Week 2 as the Vikings take on their division-rival Detroit Lions. As much as this week is feeling like a must-win for the Minnesota Vikings organization as a whole to keep their playoff hopes for 2025 alive, there is another reason why the Week 9 bout has major implications on the temperature of the fanbase and their confidence in the current regime going forward.
J.J. McCarthy Can Provide Hope Against Detroit
We remember McCarthy’s iconic fourth-quarter performance in Week 1 during his first career NFL action when he led the Vikings to a comeback win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football. Vikings fans everywhere would’ve had to have been asleep at that point of the night if they didn’t jump up out of their seats as he scampered into the end zone to ice the game.
The Vikings will need more moments like this out of McCarthy sooner rather than later if they want it to be apparent that further investment in him is worth the organization’s while. It may seem unfair to say that of someone who’s only played two games, and it’s not his fault, but the Vikings and their quarterback-of-the-future plans are already a year-and-a-half and 24 regular-season games behind. What the Vikings need to see in McCarthy, they needed to see at this point in this season in 2024.
No, they don’t necessarily need to see McCarthy making fourth-quarter comebacks every single week; that’s obvious. They do, however, need to see flashes from the kid when it comes to raw talent.
He isn’t going to come out and torch the turf by throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns every week, but the Vikings need him to show them glimpses of who they’re hoping he is in the coming weeks: Flashes of ball placement, refined mechanics, honed-in decision making, and the ability to diagnose opposing defenses before the snap of the ball.
What if McCarthy Doesn’t Flash in Week 9?
If McCarthy doesn’t flash in Week 9 against the Detroit Lions, then the peddlers of anti-McCarthy agendas will continue their smear campaign against the young signal caller. While they’re understandable in their frustration and impatience with the current QB situation, given that Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones are balling out in Seattle and Indianapolis, respectively, McCarthy has only played two games.
Yes, the Vikings need McCarthy to flash sooner rather than later. Specifically, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (more so than Kevin O’Connell), who knows that his continued employment is hand-in-hand with the development of McCarthy. But if McCarthy doesn’t “ball out” on Sunday, the Vikings aren’t in a different spot with him than they were after Week 2, when he had a rough performance. The thing that will turn the noise up, however, is if Sunday comes and McCarthy lays a lion-size egg.
The Ramifications of a J.J. McCarthy Detroit Disasterpiece
A complete embarrassment of a performance in Week 9 for McCarthy would mean all hands on deck for those unconfident in the kid taking to the streets and socials to voice their justifications for saying that he isn’t the guy. It’s hard to say I wouldn’t also have a couple of emotional reactions too. If McCarthy comes out and embarrasses himself with a 137-yard, zero-touchdown, and three-interception performance, then he also embarrasses the entire Vikings coaching staff and front office.
This isn’t likely to happen, but the implications of it are disastrous. This scenario would move the clock much closer to midnight for McCarthy and his leash as the future of the Minnesota Vikings. This isn’t to say that he needs to come out and throw for 500 yards and five touchdowns as the Vikings obliterate the Lions at their place. All the Vikings need from McCarthy is to show glimpses that reaffirm the Vikings’ confidence and investment poured into him.
Although it would be really cool if he came out and threw for 500 yards and five touchdowns as the Vikings obliterate the Lions at their place.
