McCarthy's rookie season shows flashes of brilliance alongside troubling inconsistency. Can the young QB overcome early struggles to lead the Vikings to victory?
Minnesota Vikings (9-8) quarterback J.J. McCarthy is still under fire for his performance in 2025. It's not personal, but it is perhaps unavoidable.
Uncertainty about McCarthy's ability to lead a contending NFL team is the elephant in the room for the Vikings and those who follow the team. Addressing those doubts is essential and non-negotiable for Minnesota, but some outside the franchise who have no control over the decision are watching bated breath.
Jace Frederick of the "Twin Cities Pioneer Press" is not sold on McCarthy or a future in which the young signal caller is in control of the Vikings' destiny. He wrote the following of McCarthy's first season as a starter.
"The Vikings had a front-row seat to what really equated to Year 1 of the signal caller’s NFL development. And while there were numerous stops and starts to the campaign, a solid, 10-game sample size was constructed.
McCarthy demonstrated escapability, arm strength, passion and an ability to make plays in the biggest moments.
He also showed inaccuracy, inconsistency, poor decision making and an inability to stay on the field. ...
Maybe those were all traits you’d expect to see at some level from a quarterback who turns 23 years this month. But the hope was McCarthy would be good enough to steer the ship on a championshipish-caliber team in 2025. Instead, he’s one of the major reasons the Vikings are spending Wildcard Weekend on the couch."
It's worth noting that most are not actively rooting against McCarthy. The overwhelming majority of those who follow or support the team want the signal caller to succeed. They do, however, have to balance personal feelings about wanting success for the quarterback with the reality of the on the field product. And in fairness, the product was not very good.
McCarthy did make tremendous strides as the season progressed. Among them was a three-touchdown, no turnover game against the Washington Commanders. He followed that with an explosive and complete performance to eliminate the Dallas Cowboys from playoff contention.
The 2025 sample was not all bad, but the early returns cannot be overlooked. McCarthy was not a very good quarterback in his first five games, and by some statistics was historically bad.
McCarthy could have a bright future ahead of him, so he should not be written off necessarily just yet. Injuries affected his 2025 performance. Still, there might need to be contingency plans in place at quarterback for the Vikings.
The Vikings quarterback will look to prove all of his doubters wrong next season.