Minnesota Vikings fans have had an up-and-down experience with first-year starter J.J. McCarthy.
Outside of a magical fourth-quarter comeback against the Chicago Bears, the former Michigan standout has had a rough go in the NFL so far, completing only 58.5% of his passes, with three total touchdowns to four turnovers.
Luckily, he still has the backing of his head coach, and Kevin O'Connell took the time to defend his quarterback following a rough outing against the Atlanta Falcons.
Kevin O'Connell Defends J.J. McCarthy Following Rough Falcons Performance
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Following the Vikings' 22-6 defeat at the hands of the Falcons, O'Connell defended criticisms of McCarthy, citing his lack of experience as a reason for the offensive struggles.
"Our young quarterback is going to make some plays. He's going to make some unbelievable throws...other times, he's going to have an attempt and just miss something a little long, and we will go back and try to fix it," O'Connell [said](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46266300/jj-mccarthy-encore-act-sluggish-vikings-lose-falcons) via ESPN's Kevin Seifert.
"Sometimes, the fundamentals are going to be right, the technique is going to be right, but he's learning on the fly right now. The way you overcome that is by the full group's execution level being to a certain standard that we can go try to compete and win with."
McCarthy will have the chance to take a step back and reset, as he came away from the Falcons' loss with a sprained ankle that will sideline him for a minimum of two weeks.
Carson Wentz will take over as the starter, and the former Michigan Wolverine will have the opportunity to watch and learn from a veteran as he recovers from injury.