J.J. McCarthy avoided more criticism thanks to the Minnesota Vikings defense dominating in the 48-10 win against Cincinnati on Sunday. Sure, McCarthy is nursing an ankle injury and didn’t play, but had his short term replacement, Carson Wentz, played well in that game, serious questions would have arisen about whether he truly is the long term answer.
McCarthy should be thanking this defense for taking the weight off the offense, but he should still be cautious. If he’s out for a month, that gives Wentz two more weeks to elevate this offense in his absence. The last thing McCarthy or the Vikings need is another situation like last year with an unsung hero under center, complicating their quarterback room.
This Vikings team proved their defense is good and can hold them over during McCarthy’s absence. They’ll have to keep it up to ensure McCarthy still has a job when he returns. This was always a possibility when the Vikings signed Wentz.
Carson Wentz can still steal J.J. McCarthy’s job despite strong showing from defense
One reason the Vikings signed Wentz is because his veteran experience will be invaluable in emergency situations. The Vikings don’t need Wentz to do a lot and, frankly, need him to play just like he did against the Bengals to make this time without McCarthy bearable. What incentive, though, does Wentz have to not play well while he has the chance?
I’m not saying he has to go out and force plays to be made, but what if the Vikings ultimately need the offense to step up and he answers the call? He threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He didn’t need to do a whole lot, but he had more yards in one game than McCarthy has passed for in any of his first two starts.
And Wentz didn’t turn the ball over, which is a plus especially for a backup quarterback. Wentz’s performance is proof that if the Vikings need him to do more, he should be able to. If he plays well enough, you could make the argument that McCarthy’s standing is once again in question. Wentz doesn’t need to be perfect, he just needs to not make mistakes, which he’s already done in his first game of the season.
Carson Wentz indirectly added more pressure on J.J. McCarthy this season
The pressure might be at an all-time high on McCarthy now that he’s injured. Not only are Vikings fans going to expect him to play well, but if Wentz plays well in relief, to play even better than him. McCarthy already had a lot of pressure coming into the season after Kevin O’Connell had a lot of hype around him.
Despite an injury wiping out his entire rookie season, between what Darnold did and how much hope O’Connell and the Vikings had in McCarthy, failure wasn’t an option. Now that the Vikings are 2-1, it’s even less of an option now. If there’s one thing McCarthy can learn from Wentz is that he doesn’t need to do too much.
McCarthy struggled in Week 1 for three quarters, before leading a comeback win in the fourth. Against Atlanta, he looked miserable, throwing two interceptions, no touchdown passes, just 158 passing yards and was sacked six times. The Vikings need him to play much better than that when he returns.
The Vikings put all their faith in McCarthy so injury or not, he has to play better. He doesn’t have the grace period most players do in his situation. He came in with everybody assuming he was the golden boy and going to be the quarterback that could finally lead this team on a playoff run. That hasn’t gone away and if Wentz continues to do all the right things in relief, will only magnify the pressure on McCarthy to play well this year.