Rewatching JJ McCarthy's preseason start
Looking back to last summer to see where the Vikings QB left off
By Matthew Coller
As you read this, take a minute to think back to your favorite Minnesota Vikings preseason game ever. If you are a Vikings football maniac, you may have been able to think of a couple off of the top of your head that had big showings by random players or flashes of the future but unless you are on the edge of lunacy about this franchise, it probably takes more than a minute to rack your brain for preseason details.
You are right to let those games go as soon as possible, especially over the past few years as Kevin O’Connell has moved farther away from playing starters than Mike Zimmer (and had less injuries because of it).
But there is one exception to the law of preseason amnesia: The Vikings’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders at US Bank Stadium in 2024.
Who would have thought on that early August afternoon that we would spend an entire year referencing an exhibition contest between the Vikings and a forgettable foe for the next 10 months as evidence that JJ McCarthy could be The Guy.
Certainly there was much more than that behind the scenes, otherwise A-A Ron would be your quarterback right now. Those in attendance at training camp witnessed his progress and those inside the building saw his work ethic to learn the offense and be prepared for the 2025 spring program. But for 99.9% of Vikings fans everywhere, that one preseason game has been the only sign to hang onto as proof that the team made the right decision in moving on from Sam Darnold and not bringing in Mr. Darkness Retreat.
As always, I was in the press box at US Bank Stadium that day and gave a glowing instant reaction to McCarthy’s 11-for-17, 188-yard, two-touchdown showing. I went back and watched the postgame podcast and the most prominent theme of the discussion was that his game against the Raiders looked very similar to what we had seen in camp practice. He bounced back from mistakes, saw the field well, threw accurately and with timeliness, showed playmaking and athleticism and scored touchdowns on explosive plays.
It wasn’t just onlookers who were impressed. His performance was going to be enough to earn him a chance to get more first-team reps as the team was set to travel to Cleveland for joint practices. He had been exclusively behind Darnold since the spring and was starting to make things interesting in the latter part of camp but after a quality preseason showing he was going to get some run with the ones. It was very unlikely that he would have taken the job away from Darnold but the plans to increase his reps told a story on their own.
As we head into Vikings mandatory minicamp this week, which will provide a more telling view of where McCarthy stands in his offseason progress, let’s have a look back at some of the plays that stood out from that oft-referenced preseason game and what they mean for him this summer and beyond…
After Darnold led one drive, McCarthy took over and started off his preseason career with a completion over the middle to Jalen Nailor.
On this play, the tight end and receiver have a high-low route combination with the receiver breaking outside at 15 yards and the tight end breaking at around seven yards. The tight end was totally covered and he decided against throwing the 15-yard out route with the underneath corner in zone coverage possibly having an angle to jump the deeper route. So he worked back to the middle of the Raiders’ deep zone to find Jackson.
The end zone view shows his pocket navigation as the Raiders’ edge rushers were coming for him in the pocket. With two hands on the ball, he stepped up in rhythm and kept his eyes downfield and then let loose a fastball to Nailor. In college, the middle of the field was McCarthy’s favorite area to target. On throws between 11-20 yards through the air toward the middle of the field, PFF gave him an 87.2 grade and he had a 113.4 QB rating and deep passes beyond 20 yards down the middle had a 94.6 grade and 133.6 rating.
Right after his debut pass, disaster struck. McCarthy was picked off by a Raiders DB undercutting a throw that came under duress.
The Raiders blitz here and RB Kene Nwangwu is barely a speed bump for the linebacker on his way to McCarthy. As he escapes, the QB spots camp/preseason legend Trishton Jackson coming across the middle and tries to hit him with a shortstop-style throw. The problem is that the ball doesn’t come out quite fast enough and doesn’t lead the receiver far enough toward the sideline, allowing an easy undercut pick.
Certainly if that route is being run by Justin Jefferson, he would have carved it back toward the quarterback and made sure the corner didn’t have enough room to get back to the ball first but McCarthy learned a lesson about the speed and savviness of NFL corners.
In OTAs, he got undercut on an INT by Isaiah Rodgers. It wasn’t exactly the same type of play but similar type of pick where the timing and ball placement wasn’t quite right. What comes along with a playmaker mindset and arm talent is the responsibility to use those things in the right spots.
The next drive featured, in my opinion, McCarthy’s best throw and the most telling about what he can be from the pocket.
In college he was absolutely deadly on play-action (131.7 QB rating) and it shows here. He drops back in rhythm, hangs with his read until the last second, takes a bit hit as he’s letting it go and leads his receiver with the ball to hit him at full speed in space.
This is the type of throw that takes an ability to see the field, anticipation, arm strength to drive it to the other side of the field and some guts to avoid bailing out as the rusher was coming. It’s just a very confident looking play.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Purple Insider to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.