Excitement and blind optimism are supposed to fill the first four weeks of the NFL season. Some teams have playoff hopes, and the lucky ones have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. The unlucky few are stuck watching bush-league football, but at least they’re in a position to tank and can enjoy watching young players develop.
The Minnesota Vikings have none of those things right now. Half of the starters are suspended or injured. That includes J.J. McCarthy, who has only played two out of 19 games since the Vikings drafted him 10th overall two years ago.
Imagine spending thousands of dollars and months of planning to watch McCarthy play, only to find out that you’ll be stuck watching Carson Wentz start in the year 2025. I am one of those shmucks, and my excitement level for the Dublin game I’ll be attending has plummeted. If I hadn’t paid for the trip in full, I’d consider selling my tickets to the game. The only silver lining here is that it would be difficult for the offense to look any worse than it has the past two weeks.
Ever since Kevin O’Connell became the Vikings’ head coach, this fanbase has been blessed with a quarterback whisperer. Kirk Cousins had a career year in Minnesota in 2023 before rupturing his Achilles, and Sam Darnold somehow revived his NFL career in 2024.
We grew accustomed to watching an aggressive, pass-heavy offense that was always first to punch you in the mouth. That was Minnesota’s offensive identity until McCarthy became the starter. Since then, the Vikings have looked like a team that is pretending to be something it is not – a gritty, run-first organization.
As crazy as it sounds, Wentz may be able to help Minnesota return to its true offensive identity.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand why O’Connell wants to have a more balanced offense. McCarthy played in a run-first offense at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, so it makes sense that O’Connell is trying to adapt his scheme to better suit his young quarterback.
However, Minnesota had an offensive identity that worked well before they drafted McCarthy. O’Connell is at his best when he’s creating passing concepts that exploit defensive coverages and scheme receivers wide open. Running the ball out of 11-personnel two-thirds of the time neuters O’Connell’s strengths as a playcaller.
In his prime, Wentz was a dual-threat quarterback who mastered the art of making backyard football look easy. He was a gunslinger with elite athletic ability, god-awful footwork, and an ego that made him hard to work with. Once he tore his ACL in 2017, his poor fundamentals caught up to him, and he could no longer play hero ball. Despite his age and injury history catching up to him, Wentz looked like an above-average backup during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams.
My biggest concern for the Vikings long-term isn’t all the injuries that have piled up; it’s O’Connell’s conservative play-calling. However, there’s a chance that the real reason behind Minnesota’s sudden shift in offensive philosophy is that O’Connell is protecting his young quarterback by ensuring he’s always operating in favorable down-and-distance situations.
However, what happens when you swap a first-year quarterback with a veteran former MVP candidate who wants to sling the rock? You end up with an offense that is more willing to take chances in the passing game.
“Patience is a good thing, and presence and poise is a good thing.” O’Connell said on KFAN. “But it’s time to hit the gas pedal down and play some Minnesota Vikings football.”
To be clear, I don’t think Wentz is going to become the next Sam Darnold. Kyle Shanahan fixed Darnold’s footwork in San Francisco, and Darnold was more coachable than Wentz ever was.
Still, the threat of a consistent deep-passing game would be enough to keep defenses honest, which could make it easier to establish the run game and the short passing attack. Perhaps a change at quarterback could be the catalyst for self-reflection and positive change on offense. Or maybe O’Connell gets even more conservative with a backup quarterback under center.
It feels like the Minnesota Vikings are suffering from impostor syndrome. O’Connell wants the 2025 Vikings to be more balanced, even if it means the team loses its ability to strike other teams first. If Carson Wentz’s arrival doesn’t change O’Connell’s way of thinking, the 2025 season might be over before J.J. McCarthy returns to the field.