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2-Time Super Bowl Champion Isn't Blaming J.J. McCarthy for Poor Performance vs. Falcons

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Ettinger | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 12:52 AM ET

J.J. McCarthy received his welcome to the NFL moment on 'Sunday Night Football'. While McCarthy made his long-awaited NFL debut last week on 'Monday Night Football' against the Chicago Bears, earning his first career NFL win, McCarthy was brought back down to earth in Week 2.

McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings made their 2025 home debut against the Atlanta Falcons in another primetime game. Sunday night's game started rough for the 22-year-old rookie QB and only got rougher as the night went on.

The Vikings would fail to score a touchdown against a stout Falcons defense, falling 22-6 in an uneven performance by an expected contender in a competitive NFC North division. McCarthy likely had the worst game of his playing-career, throwing for just 158 yards on 11-for-21 passing, with two interceptions while also fumbling the ball three times (losing one).

Former Super Bowl Champion Knows Why J.J. McCarthy is Struggling

While many NFL pundits and former players are ready to jump off the McCarthy bandwagon, one former NFL player, a two-time Super Bowl Champion for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bryant McFadden, is offering an alternative opinion on the young QB's struggles.

McFadden, a defensive-back who played on the 2005 and 2008 Steelers Super Bowl teams, says McCarthy isn't the one to blame for his struggles so far this season.

"If you want to see J.J. McCarthy be a better J.J. McCarthy, why not help the young rookie out? One of the greatest quarterbacks of our era, is Pat Mahomes. We just saw him in the Super Bowl look like a pedestrian, because his offensive line wasn't protecting him...If you want to see your quarterback be better, you have to protect him at some point in time," McFadden said.

.@BMac_SportsTalk says the Vikings need to do a MUCH better job protecting J.J. McCarthy. pic.twitter.com/vcCK30LFOM
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) September 15, 2025

McFadden admits McCarthy needs to play better, but says it all starts and ends with the team's offensive-line play.

Protecting McCarthy may become even more difficult moving forward, as offensive linemen, Ryan Kelley and Justin Skule both suffered concussions against the Falcons. Running back, Aaron Jones, also had to be removed from Sunday's game with a hamstring injury.

While McFadden wants the Vikings to do a better job of protecting McCarthy in order for the young QB to play better, it may depend on a handful of backup players to get the job done. The Vikings next game comes on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, another team currently being hit with the injury bug. Bengals QB, Joe Burrow is expected to miss multiple weeks with turf toe.

McCarthy and the Vikings find themselves at 1-1 and will host the Bengals at 1:00 p.m. EDT for their second home-game of the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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