The Minnesota Vikings have a real issue at the quarterback position, namely that J.J. McCarthy can’t get his interception troubles under control.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to media members after yet another two-INT game from his second-year signal-caller, the third such outing McCarthy has posted in five starts this season. O’Connell was clear that the turnovers cost Minnesota a crucial win at home against the Chicago Bears, and he didn’t let McCarthy off the hook for his mistakes.
We knew coming into the game that this team had won all of their games by winning the turnover margin, and we lost that 2-0 and did a lot of things as a football team to try and battle and continue to overcome the adversity that we kind of faced in many cases caused by ourselves.
We did a lot of the things that we talked about not doing, and the main thing being the turnovers. Gotta take a look at them, obviously. But I was proud of the way we ran the ball, tried to stick with it as much as we could. … for the most part the guys up front, I felt like we protected. We limited the negatives for the most part, we just felt like we were a play away all day.
Felt like we one or two pitch and catches away from maybe having a little bit of a different dynamic to the game throughout.
JJ McCarthy Has Thrown 8 Interceptions in 5 Starts During NFL Career
GettyQuarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
McCarthy finished the day 16-of-32 for 150 passing yards, one TD and two INTs. It was the second consecutive week that McCarthy completed 50 percent of his passes or less, and his completion percentage coming into the game was just 53.7%.
In five starts, McCarthy is now 2-3 and has thrown eight interceptions against just six touchdown passes. That said, O’Connell has limited options with veteran Carson Wentz out for the season due to surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. Wentz was also 2-3 as the starter this year, as the Vikings are now 4-6 and firmly in last place in the NFC North Division.
Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer is the QB2 and has yet to start his first NFL game.
Kevin O’Connell Stresses JJ McCarthy’s Youth Amid Struggles
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
O’Connell did offer some praise for McCarthy, referencing his youth and the necessary development to come.
“He was frustrated,” O’Connell said. “I thought he did some nice things checking the ball down a couple of times. Yeah, we might have missed some chances down the field … or missed some chances maybe to convert on some third downs and get a new set of downs and continue with the rhythm. But it’s just about the next play in that moment.”
“I will say I was very proud of the way he finished that [last] drive,” O’Connell continued. “With a young quarterback, there’s going to be a lot of things that we’ll pinpoint and try to highlight.”
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