There were some passes McCarthy probably nails 9 out of 10 times. He threw too far inside for Nailor on a comeback route that was intercepted (Nailor slipped, affecting his ability to adjust to it). Later, McCarthy missed low, targeting Jefferson, on a third down, and overthrew Nailor on a deep shot called on third-and-1.
Sacked five times in the first half, McCarthy was seldom safe from pressure. Seven different Falcons defenders were credited with one or more quarterback hits (and six got a piece of Atlanta's six sacks).
"I think everyone on the offensive side could raise their hand that they could have done something better – it was one play here, one play there. And again, that's why it's the greatest team game there is, because you have to have 11 guys on the same page on every single play to have success," Adam Thielen said. "It'll be a great learning moment for us. Obviously losses stink, but if you use it the right way and you learn from it individually, as a group, and you come back you can really gain a lot of momentum."
Slivers of hope were scattered. With a dozen seconds left until breaking for the locker room, the Vikings executed their first explosive. McCarthy dropped deep in a safe pocket and unleashed a fastball over the middle to Jefferson, who made his 501st career catch at the bottom of the team's logo at about midfield.
"Jets" did the rest, throttling up all the way to Atlanta's 33. Minnesota dialed a timeout with two ticks remaining in the first 30 minutes and then kicker Will Reichard drilled a 51-yard field goal to make it 9-6.
It was akin to a week ago, when McCarthy connected with Nailor for a big completion before the half, Reichard converted a try and, well, you know the rest – the young quarterback overcame adversity with help from his defense and aced the fourth quarter of his debut with a Player of the Week-caliber effort.