ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — J.J. McCarthy has back-to-back wins for the first time as an NFL quarterback, and three more games to show the Minnesota Vikings that he can help get them back into the playoffs next season.
While Minnesota (6-8) was eliminated from playoff contention before kickoff of its 34-26 win at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, there is still time to try to build some more momentum with and for the injury-plagued young starting QB.
“The response from our quarterback was fantastic, on the road, Sunday night football, first attempt gets batted and intercepted,” coach Kevin O’Connell said.
“I love what I do. Like I love playing ball. I realize how blessed I am to be in this position. And most importantly I love the people I do it with,” McCarthy said. “It can get very loud and very noisy and you know there’s a lot of situations that I’ve gone through in my past to kind of minimize those things. And the number one thing that does that is just love what you’re doing right in front of you, love who you’re around because that’s what matters in the grand scheme of things, and focus on that growth each and every day.”
The Vikings have alternated between making and missing the playoffs in four seasons under O’Connell, and their next chance to get into the postseason will be in 2026. They lost in the wild-card round after going 13-4 in 2022, O’Connell’s first year, and 14-3 in 2024.
McCarthy completed 15 of 24 passes for 250 yards with two touchdowns to Jalen Nailor and that interception on his first attempt against the Cowboys. The 2024 first-round pick who won a national championship at Michigan also ran for a touchdown after a great fake handoff that left pretty much the left side of the field open for him to scamper into the end zone.
“His confidence is growing,” veteran center Ryan Kelly said. “He’s just really taking that step forward and the kid’s shouldered a lot of weight in his first really year of starting. And what he’s been able to do the last two weeks has been really impressive.”
Minnesota went ahead to stay on fullback C.J. Ham’s 1-yard touchdown run that made it 24-23 late in the third quarter on a drive that McCarthy extended with a 23-yard pass to Nailor on fourth-and-3 from the Dallas 37. Nailor’s only other two catches were his touchdowns, a 20-yarder in the first quarter and a 4-yard score in the fourth.
After starting 3-2 this season, Minnesota lost six of seven after its bye week. The Vikings stopped a four-game losing streak with a 31-0 victory over Washington last week in McCarthy’s return to the lineup after missing a game with a concussion, though that ended up being too little, too late.
That was the second time this season the Vikings won when McCarthy got back in the lineup after missing time.
McCarthy is 4-4 in his first season as the starting quarterback after his rookie year was wiped out by a torn meniscus in his right knee. This season, he was sidelined for five games by a high ankle sprain.
The Vikings beat NFC North rival Detroit to even their record at 4-4 in McCarthy’s return on Nov. 2 before losing the next four. McCarthy struggled through the first three games of the losing streak, then missed a 26-0 loss to Seattle before a he threw season-best three touchdown passes against the Commanders and went without a turnover for the first time.
Minnesota chose to stick with McCarthy after his promising 2024 preseason, even though a breakout year from Sam Darnold resulted in a playoff trip. The Vikings let Darnold go to Seattle in free agency.