The Minnesota Vikings offense has not been playing free or easy over their past four games.
So listening to coach Kevin O’Connell’s company edict of keeping poised in Minnesota’s game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Jordan Addison offered a strong message about how he can support embattled quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Minnesota (4-8) has dropped four straight and is 1-6 in its past seven, going from a 3-2 start to last place in the NFC North.
McCarthy has come under fire, since he has a 6-10 touchdown-to-interception rate and has completed just 54.1 percent of his passes this season, the 45th-best mark in the league among 46 QBs to play at least two games.
Jordan Addison: J.J. McCarthy Has Enough Going On
The Vikings receivers must be getting frustrated at the Vikings’ limited quarterback play.
Minnesota ranks 29th in the NFL in passing-yards per game (173.2) and 30th in receiving-yards per game (195.4) — they were sixth and fifth, respectively, in each category with Sam Darnold at quarterback in 2024.
Justin Jefferson, the consensus No. 1 wide receiver in football entering this season, has been an after thought this season — he’s averaging his fewest receiving-yards per game (59.0) and has only two touchdowns in 12 games.
Addison, who had consecutive 875-plus-yard seasons since Minnesota picked him in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, is on pace for just 650 yards this season.
Yet, Addison said he can do more to support McCarthy.
“I just try to in my lane and do my job,” Addison said Thursday. “The quarterback has got a lot of stuff going on. He’s got people in his ear already.”
Injuries have plagued McCarthy throughout his career. He, of course, missed all of last season with a torn meniscus and has missed six injuries with a concussion and a high-ankle sprain — the Vikings have gone 2-4 without him in the lineup.
So Addison feels he can make things easier by controlling what he can control.
“If I go out there and do my job then it will make it easier for him,” Addison said. “Whatever it is, if it’s a route get open. If it’s making a blocking, make sure I make the block. Pretty much whatever it is, just do my job.”
Kevin O’Connell Is Trying To Take The Pressure Off J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings
Addison and the Vikings are feeling the stress of their highly anticipated season going sideways. Last year they won 14 games but are 4-10 in games that count in 2025 — they, of course, lost their last two games of 2024, including their wild-card-round game against the Los Angeles Rams.
“We all, individually, have got a lot of stuff going on,” Addison said. “We’ve got a lot of nerves going on, so it’s about just going out there and trying to do the best that we can.”
But O’Connell has spoken publicly about taking the edge off this week against Washington. Addison has felt the relief of O’Connell’s back-to-basics message.
“Just putting it in a simple context like that just makes it easier for a lot of us and takes the pressure off of us,” Addison said. “[We’ve got to] just go out there and play.”
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