MINNEAPOLIS — There were no fourth-quarter heroics Sunday night for J.J. McCarthy. Instead, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback and the rest of his team’s offense slogged through 60 mostly rough minutes in a 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
McCarthy’s performance clarified a few facts about the Vikings, who entered the season with hopes of a deep playoff run. Most notably, players and coaches said afterward, the play around McCarthy needs to be much better.
“This is going to be a process for our team,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Our young quarterback is going to make some plays. He’s going to make some unbelievable throws. … And then, other times, he’s going to have an attempt and just miss something a little long, and we will go back and try to fix it. Sometimes, the fundamentals are going to be right, the technique is going to be right, but he’s learning on the fly right now. The way you overcome that is by the full group’s execution level being to a certain standard that we can go try to compete and win with.”
The Vikings scored 21 points in the fourth quarter of their Week 1 victory over the Chicago Bears, but they have just 12 points over the other seven quarters. McCarthy has taken nine sacks, including six Sunday night. The Falcons intercepted two of his passes, and he fumbled three times, including twice when he dropped the ball without being hit, and he lost one. His off-target rate was 28.6%, tied for the second-highest rate among qualified quarterbacks in Week 2.
Over his first two NFL starts, McCarthy has completed 24 of 41 passes for 301 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He has also rushed seven times for 50 yards and a touchdown, but his QBR of 20.4 ranks No. 32 of 33 qualified quarterbacks in the league.
“We’ve got a lot to do,” McCarthy said. “I’ve got a lot to do personally. There’s a lot of things about this game that show up. It’s awesome to be part of such a great group where I know we’re going to grow together, I know we’re going to learn together. There’s a lot of love in that locker room. That’s what it comes down to. This is a long season. Everyone is telling me this is a frickin’ journey, and I believe them wholeheartedly.”
McCarthy played most of the game behind a patchwork offensive line after center Ryan Kelly and left tackle Justin Skule left Sunday’s game early because of concussions. The Falcons pressured McCarthy on 36.7% of his dropbacks, but his average time before throwing was 3.35 seconds, the highest in the NFL in Week 2.
The Vikings’ five turnovers are tied for the NFL lead, and their 30.4% conversion rate on third down ranks No. 29 in the league. As a result, the Vikings have the NFL’s lowest average number of plays per game (47.5), minimizing McCarthy’s development opportunities.
Sunday night was only the fourth time McCarthy has lost a start dating back to his sophomore year in high school. His record over that period is 64-4. That’s a big reason players in the locker room said they are nowhere close to losing confidence.
“He’s built for this,” Vikings receiver Adam Thielen said. “That’s why they fell in love with him in the draft process, and why we all are so confident in him because he’s legitimately built for that. It’s going to be a process as a team, like it is every year. You just keep going to work and learning from the good things and learning from the bad times, and keep building every single week.”
