It has not been the sort of season the Minnesota Vikings were hoping for. The Vikings made the tough decision to let Sam Darnold walk in free agency, despite Darnold having a career year in the 2024 campaign.
The decision left the franchise in the hands of young quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who wasn’t able to be evaluated in his rookie season after suffering a meniscus injury in the preseason that ended his year prematurely.
This year, effectively his rookie season, things have not gone the way McCarthy or the Vikings were hoping for. Although he received NFC Player of the Week honors after leading Minnesota to an impressive victory over the Chicago Bears in his first-ever NFL start, the young talent’s play has been inconsistent, at best.
McCarthy has also struggled to stay healthy during what is always a grueling regular season in the NFL. McCarthy has missed time due to both a high ankle sprain and a concussion.
McCarthy, finally healthy again, has shown improvement in recent weeks. In a 31-0 win over the Washington Commanders, McCarthy threw for three touchdowns. He then followed it up with an impressive showing against the Dallas Cowboys, where he threw for two more touchdowns and rushed for another.
However, the rushing score has landed him in some hot water with his head coach, Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell confirmed that he wasn’t a fan of McCarthy “griddying” into the endzone on the score, and McCarthy even admitted that he was told during practice not to do it, only to go on to do it during the game.
“I did it in practice, and I was told not to do it,” McCarthy said, per ESPN. “So, just me being who I am, it’s like, ‘Oh, now I’m more enticed to do it.’ But if it’s that open, obviously just get in the end zone no matter what — and be coachable and do what my coach says. So yeah, I’ll definitely get a minus [grade] for that.”
J.J. McCarthy just had to do the Griddy 😂 pic.twitter.com/RgmsCfEfCW
— ESPN (@espn) December 15, 2025
If McCarthy continues to trend in the right direction, he might earn some more leeway moving forward. For now, he may want to focus on letting his play do the talking for him, rather than giving defenses whiteboard material.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.