It was always going to be a roller coaster with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy stepping into the spotlight for the Minnesota Vikings.
There were going to be stretches where he looked really good, as he did late in the 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears last Monday night. There also was bound to be stretches where he looked really bad, as he did throughout the 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
The blame wasn’t all on McCarthy’s shoulders, however, as the offense couldn’t get much going. That spoiled a performance from the defense that should have been enough to earn a win.
Here are some takeaways from the Vikings’ 22-6 loss to the Falcons:
More growing pains for J.J. McCarthy
If McCarthy didn’t mount such an impressive comeback last week, the conversation surrounding him would be much more volatile right now. Though he certainly deserves credit for the way he led the Vikings to a win over the Bears, it shouldn’t be overlooked that he struggled for prolonged stretches in that game, too. There have been more lows than highs from McCarthy so far. The mistakes that plagued him against the Bears were back Sunday against the Falcons, when he completed 11 of 21 passes for 158 yards to go along with a pair of interceptions and a fumble. To make matters worse, McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain in the game, and he’s expected to miss some time.
It’s time to lean on Jordan Mason
There were a few times against the Falcons that the Vikings simply should have given the ball to running back Jordan Mason, most notably when they had the ball in the low red zone with a chance to score a touchdown. Not once did Mason touch the ball on that sequence, and the Vikings settled for a field goal. It would be wise to use Mason more from the onset. Not only does he have good vision with the ball in his hands, he has a 5-foot-11, 225-pound frame that can take pressure off of everybody else.
Not enough targets for Justin Jefferson
Maybe the best way to get the offense into a rhythm would be getting the best receiver on the planet involved early and often. There’s no reason Justin Jefferson should only have a half dozen targets in a game. The biggest play against the Falcons came when McCarthy found Jefferson over the middle for a gain of 50 yards. That came from making a concerted effort to let it rip. And while that worked in that specific situation, Jefferson should be getting the ball in his hands closer to the line of scrimmage, as well. Not everything for the Vikings has to be an intermediate route in space.
More injuries on offensive line
It’s getting ugly for the Vikings in the trenches on offense. Not only is left tackle Christian Darrisaw still recovering from a knee injury, veteran center Ryan Kelly was placed in concussion protocol during the game against the Falcons, which thrust young Michael Jurgens into action. The injuries kept piling up as backup left tackle Justin Skule also was placed in concussion protocol, prompting Walter Rouse to step in.
ADVERTISEMENT
Need to improve stopping the run
As much praise as the defense deserves for the way it played against the Falcons, it still gave up too many chunk runs, which resulted in the unit allowing 218 yards on the ground. That’s way too much. If the Vikings continue down that path, they will eventually get blown out. Not every team is going to have to keep settling for field goal after field goal each time it reaches the red zone.
____________________________________
This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.