Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy made his first start since Week 2 on Sunday and the result was the one the team wanted to see.
McCarthy threw a pair of touchdowns and sealed the 27-24 win with a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Jalen Nailor on a late third down, but he wasn’t totally satisfied with his play in his return from an ankle injury. McCarthy finished 14-of-25 for 143 yards and also threw an interception, which is why his postgame comments focused on a desire to be even better in the coming weeks.
“I’m happy that we got the win, but I’m not proud, to be honest with you,” McCarthy said, via the team’s website. “There’s a lot of meat on the bone, and I feel like I could have played a lot better. But coming into this environment and controlling my emotions, controlling kind of my temperament going into it — I was proud of that.”
Thanks to the ankle injury and 2024’s knee surgery, Sunday’s game was just McCarthy’s third start since being drafted in the first round last year. That makes ebbs and flows in his game inevitable, and there was enough good in a road win to make the Vikings feel good about where things can go for the quarterback from here.
