MINNEAPOLIS — J.J. McCarthy‘s big third quarter Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders had everyone asking the same question: Does this mean he’s ready to challenge for the Minnesota Vikings‘ starting quarterback job?
The man who will ultimately make that decision doesn’t appear to think so … at least not yet. Coach Kevin O’Connell said, after his team’s 24-23 win, that he viewed McCarthy’s preseason debut, which included touchdown passes of 45 and 33 yards on the Vikings’ first two possessions after halftime, as “just another glorified, singular step in the process.”
O’Connell said that the Vikings’ pair of joint practices next week with the Cleveland Browns “will be huge” and he is “just looking for [McCarthy] to improve and look comfortable in our system.”
O’Connell added: “I think we want to be smart about that development and make sure that his training camp is absolutely going to plan.”
To this point, McCarthy has spent all but two snaps in training camp with the Vikings’ second team. He watched from the sideline Saturday as veteran Sam Darnold started along with most of the rest of the Vikings’ No. 1 offense. He replaced Darnold after one series, working mostly with the Vikings’ backup offensive line and receivers, and threw an interception to end his first possession.
But he came out firing in the third quarter, hitting receiver Trishton Jackson on a go route down the left sideline for one touchdown and then Trent Sherfield Sr. on a corner route against a busted coverage for the other. He finished the day with 11 completions in 17 attempts for 188 yards, along with two scrambles that netted 18 yards.
The chance to redeem himself after halftime, McCarthy said, was an opportunity he wanted to capitalize on.
“In this league,” he added, “things are going to go bad, and it’s your ability to respond and navigate those waters when it does happen. So just being able to have that ‘goldfish memory,’ go back out there and have that ‘sling it’ mentality, which is what I needed.”