J.J. McCarthy Shows Growing Pains, Finishes with Grit and Moxie
I have documented my optimism for McCarthy during the offseason, advocating his natural leadership instincts, physical tools as both a passer and runner, and intangibles as a winner. All were on full display Monday night in front of a national stage that started for McCarthy as if he were a kid learning how to ride a bike in his first NFL start.
The growing pains were evident, emphasized by a 74-yard interception returned for a touchdown by former Viking, Nahshon Wright, in the third quarter. By the end of the third quarter, the offense had yet to convert a third down in eight attempts and McCarthy had just 56 passing yards.
Then the training wheels came off as he delivered a fourth quarter comeback for the ages by becoming the first player in NFL history to account for three touchdowns in the final quarter of his NFL debut.
McCarthy battled through adversity and at least for a night, the nation witnessed what O’Connell, and the Vikings saw in him as the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft that led to a transition from Sam Darnold, who short-circuited the final two games last year that ended a promising 14-3 season.
On the other hand, there’s McCarthy who showed determination and heart against the odds as a 22-year-old in his first NFL game to channel his inner “eye of the tiger.”
“The look in his [McCarthy] eye was fantastic,” O’Connell said. “The best thing was just the belief I felt from the team, from the unit, and ultimately, that doesn’t get done without him in the second half.”
It’s not going to be perfect, but the kid showed he is a gamer in the brightest of lights against a divisional rival. Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard echoed O’Connell’s notion about the team’s belief in McCarthy.
“I felt like he was the type of player who could do this,” Greenard said. “I knew it was in there. I just wanted to see it come to fruition in a real game.” Did Greenard get confirmation? “Helllllll yeah,” he replied. “We’ve seen enough.”
No one is crowning McCarthy after one NFL start but the moxie displayed is tantalizing in the first chapter of his NFL career. Everyone was wondering how McCarthy would perform, and his performance earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The Vikings got a semblance of validation to what they were seeing throughout training camp and expecting when they chose him to be the starter – a competitor who knows and finds ways to win.
Defense Starts Slow, Interior Pass Rush Improved
With a redshirt quarterback in his first NFL action as starter, the defense will be relied upon throughout the season as the backbone to keep games close. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is a handful with his physical traits but plays with such an unapologetic, eccentric approach to his game that it’s hard to pinpoint what version you’ll get, even midgame. Williams started hot by completing his first ten passes for 96 yards but ultimately Flores took advantage of William’s erratic style to get the last laugh.
Flores initially relied upon his front four to generate pressure with the additions of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. The duo combined for 13 total pressures with Hargrave registering two sacks. To put it into perspective, the interior defensive linemen had only 41 pressures total last season. Impressively, each were also double teamed 41.9% and 47.1% respectively that allowed Flores to dial up pressure and blitz packages from multiple angles in the second half.
In the second half, Flores blitzed on 55.6% of plays that created disruption and confusion for Williams who was consistently erratic with missed throws that went 8 for 19 (42.1%) for 98 yards in the half. After a slow start, the defense adjusted and rose to the occasion to keep the game close that empowered McCarthy heroics in the fourth quarter to generate the win.
The Vikings Backfield Duo is Dangerous
The Vikings offensive game plan at the start of the game was suspect as running back Jordan Mason didn’t see his first carry until the last minute of the first quarter and McCarthy audibled on multiple possessions. In the first half, four of the six offensive drives resulted in three-and-outs as the offensive line struggled resulting in the offense failing to find any rhythm. Not an ideal design for O’Connell’s game script to take pressure off McCarthy in his first NFL start.
Then the fourth quarter happened. O’Connell perfectly mixed Mason’s explosiveness as the main back handling carries that resulted in 56 of his 68 rushing yards coming after contact while leveraging Aaron Jones, Sr. dynamic pass-catching on a perfectly executed choice fade route for a 27-yard touchdown.
It was this combination that kept the Bears defense off balance with Mason being the driving force of getting chunk yards on the ground that helped set up play action which also led to McCarthy having open real estate on his 14-yard touchdown run.
If O’Connell can continue to refine and incorporate a running game that has eluded his play calling tendencies in the past, he has compliment backs at his disposal to do maximum damage to opposing defenses that will also take pressure off McCarthy at times.
The Punt Return Game Maybe a Weapon
One of the question marks heading into the regular season was the punt return game as it was hard to find solace with relying on an undrafted rookie like Myles Price, let alone on the road against a division rival. Price had also muffed punts at the tail end of training camp.
Price passed the eye test with flying colors as he had no issues catching the ball and averaged 17.0 yards on four punt returns with a long of 22 yards that showed consistency with getting yards on a per return basis. Last season, Brandon Powell was one of the league’s worst with a 7.1 average, so Price’s performance was a welcomed and pleasant surprise in game one so far.
If the Vikings can get more consistency and even dynamic returns from Price, the punt return game will become more of a weapon in generating great field position.
Other tidbits:
The Vikings defense created 30 pressures led by Jonathan Greenard and Javon Hargrave each having seven. Caleb Williams threw 35 passing attempts. The defensive pressure will be a problem for opposing offenses that should once again feature as one of the league leaders with generating turnovers also.