Everything is there for JJ McCarthy to succeed in Dallas
The Vikings are healthy and facing a struggling defense
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN —One thing we can say about JJ McCarthy’s last four games is that he will have several opportunities to put up numbers.
That starts with facing the Dallas Cowboys this week, who have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL and is allowing a 109.1 QB rating against (31st). They have only had two games this year (vs. Washington and Las Vegas) where the defense finished on the positive side of Expected Points Added. They did have a solid overall showing against Philadelphia two weeks ago but the Eagles have proven to be severely lacking offensively, ranking 19th in points scored.
In terms of the coverage McCarthy will be facing, the Cowboys have only managed five interceptions and rank 31st by PFF.
Cornerback DaRon Bland, who had nine picks in 2023, only has one this year and has a 107.4 QB rating allowed when targeted. Rookie corner Shavon Revel has been toasted so far this year to the tune of a 35.8 PFF grade. It’s unclear if corner Trevon Diggs is going to play this week — he was limited in practice on Wednesday. Dallas’s best corner statistically has been Reddy Steward, who was waived by the Vikings out of camp and his QB rating against is a mediocre 97.8.
Their leader in sacks is former Detroit Lion James Houston. He and Jadeveon Clowney are the only two players with 4.0 sacks or more.
Dallas also might have the worst set of linebackers in the NFL. Kenneth Murray Jr. is 57th of 59 starters by PFF and they acquired Logan Wilson, who ranks 49th.
It’s not all bad for the ‘Boys.
Their acquisition of DT Quinnen Williams has added serious violence to the Dallas D-line. Since arriving in Week 11, he has 26 QB pressures, which leads the NFL.
The Cowboys’ interior D-line also features Viking killer Kenny Clark, who was acquired in the Micah Parsons trade. He has 37 QB pressures this year (13th) and ranks 38th by PFF grade. The highly-paid Osa Odighizuwa has the sixth most pressures among DTs with 43 and is just outside the top 20 in grade. Rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku has become a quality rotational player. He’s third among rookie edge rushers in QB pressures.
One small advantage that the Cowboys have is that defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has a lot of experience against O’Connell’s offense. Still, the Vikings mostly owned the Bears during Eberflus’s time in Chicago.
Overall, Dallas has just enough talent to cause some problems but nowhere near enough talent to be a good defense.
Not only does McCarthy have the advantage of playing against poor competition, he has everyone on the offense at his disposal.
Last week the offensive line had all five starters and put together an excellent performance in pass protection and the run game. He also has his starting unit of wide receivers, running backs and tight ends. You might not find another team in the NFL with an offense this healthy.
There are a couple of ways to look at McCarthy getting another shot against a lowly defense after he performed well versus the Commanders last week.
1 — It’s an opportunity for McCarthy to continue to build up confidence. If he can put together multiple quality showings, he might become more and more comfortable with playing within the system and making winning decisions with the football.
2 — It gives them a chance to start getting Justin Jefferson the ball. It’s wonderful that Jefferson has been a good teammate through all of this, now throw him the freaking ball. Nobody on this team can cover him. JJ and JJ desperately need to start forming a connection.
McCarthy talked about where he and Jefferson stand after another week without much production.
“He sees the game completely different than I do from his perspective and being able to see what he does on tape, on the back side of things, and me coming to the sideline and seeing something on the iPad and saying, ‘hey, maybe if we throttled this down right here… that’s going to be a nice void right there for you to sit and catch that ball,’” McCarthy said. “It’s just growing along the way. We’re seeing new defenses, going against new players, new coaches, and there’s going to be more obstacles that come. And it’s just how good is our relationship and communication to be able to overcome and prepare us for future obstacles.”
3 — The Cowboys set a low bar for the evaluation. If McCarthy has some of the same issues that he had against Chicago, Baltimore and Atlanta versus a team that has so many struggles in coverage, then the sample size will grow larger of him not looking ready to play consistent football.
To that point, the Vikings’ final four games will shape how their front office and coaching staff feels about their quarterback situation in 2026.
While it might be a flawed concept to evaluate a player based on four games — that would be like judging a hitter on his stats in September only — there’s no magic wand that can be waved to give the Vikings more time to study JJ McCarthy. They will only have an 11-game sample size to work with (at best) and they will have to make decisions based on that.
If he shines, it may give them enough confidence to believe the next step is right around the corner. Otherwise, they would have quite the task ahead with very few impressive names available. What happens if it’s somewhere in between?
ADDITIONAL NOTES
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