Ex-Minnesota Viking J.J. McCarthy Stuns in Overtime Win vs. Texans

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. It didn't take much from the offense. The Vikings came back from down 10-6 at halftime to defeat the Colts, 16-10.

Alec Lewis of The Athletic summed up the first half well. "Everything for the Vikings' offense just feels hard."

The difficulty to produce points was a big story of the day, but former Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy did not have much trouble generating offense for his new team, the New York Giants.

In his first start as a Giants quarterback, McCarthy stunned completing 20 of 28 passes for 252 yards and 9.0 yards per attempt in his team's overtime win over the Houston Texans. It was the type of performance that made some begin to question, "Why is he doing so well there, and why can't the Vikings generate much offense here?"

Diagnosing McCarthy's improved offensive production and the Vikings' lack of progression without him is quite the exercise. For the average fan, it may point to the fact that Minnesota's offensive coaching staff was the problem.

Whether or not there is any validity to that claim is certainly up for debate. Head coach Kevin O'Connell has fielded strong offenses in Minnesota. That said, it seems fair to say that the New York Giants are doing a much better job of coaching their quarterbacks than the Vikings have the last two seasons.

The evidence of the Giants' superior quarterback coaching in the fact that it really doesn't matter if McCarthy, Jaxson Dart or Jameis Winston starts for the team. The Giants are going to play quality offensive football regardless. The same cannot be said in Minnesota, though offensive line play plays a factor.

The question still remains, was the Minnesota coaching staff holding McCarthy back? Perhaps it isn't that simple.

We have seen plenty of quarterbacks have a second-year resurgence after an awful first season. Some would argue former NFL legend Peyton Manning had one of if not the worst rookie season at quarterback in league history given all the chances that he was given and the expectations placed on him with the Indianapolis Colts. McCarthy is having a similar resurgence.

To be sure, it's only one game. The Vikings aren't feeling too bad about their position standing at 6-0 on the season and alone in first place in the NFC North. It does make you wonder if the Vikings moved on too early from the promising quarterback. Only time will tell.