The timeline of J.J. McCarthy’s ankle injury became more complicated when the Vikings returned to Minnesota for a bye week and still couldn’t get him back on the field over the course of two weeks at something very close to 100% for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
That made Carson Wentz the starter for a fourth straight game, with undrafted rookie Max Brosmer the No. 2 and McCarthy only deemed ready to be the emergency No. 3 QB. With a short week and a Thursday game at the L.A. Chargers to follow, logic dictated that it would be Wentz for that game as well.
Before Sunday, my thought given all that was this: What if Wentz plays really well and wins both of those games? The Vikings would be 5-2 at that point, including 4-1 (with three victories in a row) with the veteran Wentz at QB. Could you really go back to McCarthy, even if fully healthy, after that?
My wise friend Drew Magary, a tried-and-true Vikings fan, responded to my text late last week spelling out that scenario with this: “That’s a problem for later.”
question Indeed. Or, more aptly after Sunday: erased. The Vikings didn’t win against the Eagles, and Wentz made enough gaffes to remind us of exactly who he is: a clear backup and placeholder, someone who has helped at least keep the season afloat but not someone who is going to take the Vikings on some sort of magical journey.
As Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast, the Vikings’ 28-22 loss to the Eagles reinforced this: For multiple reasons, McCarthy is 100% the QB when he’s healthy.
Let’s get into specifics at the start of today’s 10 things to know: