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NFL Insider Nervous Over Mounting Pressure on Vikings QB
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- NFL Insider Nervous Over Mounting Pressure on Vikings QB
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The entirety of this Minnesota Vikings season has hinged on the play of J.J. McCarthy. That was true from the moment the franchise allowed both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones to sign elsewhere. Hurt since Week 2, he's now being tasked with saving things for a 3-4 team taking on water.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell didn't want to subject Max Brosmer to adverse circumstances on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers. Even a clean kickoff won't provide an ideal situation for McCarthy though, and that presents room for concern.
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Weight of the world on JJ McCarthy's shoulders
Last year the Minnesota Vikings used a first round pick on J.J. McCarthy because they saw him as their future. He suffered a season-ending knee injury that wiped out his rookie campaign . He's been shelved since Week 2 with an ankle injury. Now O'Connell is ready to bring a healthy version back, and the season depends on him. Peter Schrager is worried about that strategy.
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"I don't know if there's any quarterback with more pressure on his shoulders."
@PeterSchrager thinks J.J. McCarthy is proving himself as QB1 under pressure 💪🔥 pic.twitter.com/lIP0id2QRs— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 24, 2025
"Let me say this. They made a decision this offseason to let Sam Darnold walk after a 14-3 season. They also let Daniel Jones walk, which is understandable. He's a backup quarterback and was asking for a lot of money. They also brought in Sam Howell, they traded him away. They get Carson Wentz in August. The whole expectation was J.J. McCarthy is going to ride us the whole way. The amount of pressure on this young man to come in and be a Drake Maye, a Bo Nix, I don't know if there's any quarterback with more pressure on his shoulders. The pressure to deliver for that front office and that coaching staff on the decisions they made, I think J.J. is not only walking into this with a bad offensive line, he's walking into this with the weight of the world on him. I don't envy J.J. McCarthy coming back."
To suggest that there is a more spot on assessment of reality would be putting it lightly. The reality is that Kevin O'Connell has essentially tied the outcome of this season to his young quarterback.
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McCarthy has been hurt and unable to go. Carson Wentz played as a walking corpse on Thursday Night Football. Now if the front office and the coaching staff want to be vindicated in their belief of this team, it's McCarthy who must get them there.
Minnesota started McCarthy for the first two weeks of the season. He completed just 58.5% of his passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns . It's clear that there is upside for McCarthy. The former Michigan product showed an ability to move in the pocket and create on the run. That doesn't mean he'll be set up for success once he returns.
This Vikings team is now 3-4 with playoff hopes dangling by a thread. To ask a 22-year-old starter to play savior is laughable at best. That's the situation that O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have created however. We'll see how well it works next week against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field .
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