Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings have an international game against the Cleveland Browns in London this week. While he doesn’t ever want to lose games, I wouldn’t be surprised if he secretly wanted the Browns defense to startle the Vikings offense and come out with a win. If the Browns win, it will justify him going back to J.J. McCarthy; if Carson Wentz pulls out his second win in three starts this year, he may be forced to rock with Wentz.
It’s a decision O’Connell thought he wouldn’t have to worry about this year after the Vikings turned the page on Sam Darnold and handed McCarthy the keys to the offense. Wentz has outplayed McCarthy by a long shot and returning to McCarthy after Wentz has actually breathed life into this team would be irresponsible.
McCarthy is still the future of the Minnesota Vikings, but in the interim it might work out better for Minnesota to stay with the hot quarterback. Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers last year, they turned away Justin Fields just to lose in the first round of the playoffs. On the contrary, look at Atlanta last year, they stayed with Kirk Cousins too long and it cost them a playoff spot.
O’Connell has a lot to think about and it could all hinge on how well Wentz plays Sunday and if he leads the Vikings to a win over the lowly Cleveland Browns.
The Vikings have no reason to turn back to J.J. McCarthy
I hate to say it, but the Vikings should stick with McCarthy even if Wentz doesn’t beat the Cleveland Browns. The Vikings haven’t looked bad offensively since Wentz took over for an injured McCarthy. In his last two games, Wentz has thrown for 523 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
With him under center, this offense has looked smoother than with McCarthy. Other than a comeback win against the Chicago Bears, McCarthy really hasn’t looked that good. The Vikings have been competing for a playoff spot year after year and that shouldn’t change this year. At this point, the Vikings can’t afford to turn to McCarthy if he’s not helping them get closer to the playoffs.
It would be one thing if he wasn’t playing well, but the team was winning. Truthfully, the Bears gave the game away and the Atlanta Falcons had their way with McCarthy and the Vikings offense. He needs to play much better if he wants to be the long term answer. I could see the Vikings doing what the Indianapolis Colts are doing. Right now, it’s Daniel Jones’ job until it’s not.
For Minnesota, it should be Wentz until he starts costing you games. The worst thing O’Connell could do is go back to McCarthy and regret it and have an uphill battle to get back into playoff contention. The Vikings are a playoff team with Wentz right now, why ruin that if you don’t have to.
Could J.J. McCarthy have new life after he returns from injury?
There’s a world in which McCarthy sees the urgency of needing to play well because his job could be on the line and that fuels him to bounce back post injury. McCarthy came into this season with no competition and no threat to not being the starter this year. With the way Wentz is playing, if O’Connell decided to go back to McCarthy, he could have some motivation.
I don’t think O’Connell will stay with Wentz once McCarthy gets fully healthy just because he wants to stick with his first option. Last year, he was forced to play Darnold simply because McCarthy was too hurt to play the rest of the season. Given the opportunity this year, I could see O’Connell giving McCarthy another shot, though I don’t agree with it.
McCarthy hasn’t shown anything this year that he’s going to be the quarterback that helps them go on a playoff run; Wentz has. Changing up the flow of the team when things are going relatively well could backfire. It’s just as likely to backfire if O’Connell rolls with the backup quarterback.