J.J. McCarthy is holding back the Vikings offense

The Minnesota Vikings let another winnable game slip away on Sunday, dropping a 19-17 decision to the Chicago Bears to fall to 4-6 and pretty much see their NFC North dreams -- and perhaps their playoff hopes -- slip away. The biggest issue with their offense right now is the fact that second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy is not yet progressing the way the Vikings hoped. 

Another bad game for J.J. McCarthy limits Vikings offense

The Vikings rolled the dice this offseason by letting Sam Darnold leave in free agency following a 14-win season and turning their offense over to McCarthy. On some level, it made sense. The Vikings used a top-10 pick on McCarthy in the 2024 NFL Draft. Darnold really only had one strong season as a starting quarterback and having a young, cheap quarterback can be a huge advantage under the salary cap.

But it was still a risk.

McCarthy missed his entire rookie season -- and a full season of important development -- due to injury, and was being thrown into a situation this season where he was going to have to lead a hopeful Super Bowl contender. 

The early returns are not great, and they only managed to get worse on Sunday.

While Darnold has helped lead the Seattle Seahawks to the top of the NFC standings, McCarthy was limited by injury again early this season and has struggled mightily when he has played. On Sunday, he completed just 16-of-32 passes for 150 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. 

Even worse than the lack of yards, scoring and the turnovers was the fact that McCarthy just never looked comfortable or effective. His accuracy was bad; he missed open throws and the Vikings offense was completely ineffective against a Bears defense that is one of the worst in football. 

In his five starts this season, he has already thrown eight interceptions (to only six touchdowns), while also fumbling two times. 

On the one hand, it is still very early in McCarthy's career. He has played just five games and has lost significant developmental time to injury over the first two years of his career. He is very much a work in progress.

But on the other hand, the Vikings picked him in the hopes that he could just plug right into their lineup and manage a talented offense that is filled with playmakers all over it. Right now, McCarthy is clearly the weak link in it. It is leading to a disappointing season that is quickly slipping away from them.