FARGO — Carson Wentz’s NFL career went from being Ginger Jesus to cannon fodder. The opening scene of “Saving Private Ryan” was only slightly less disturbing than what happened Thursday at SoFi Stadium.
No matter your thoughts on the former North Dakota State quarterback, a one-time No. 2 overall draft pick and potential franchise savior in Philadelphia, it was sad to see him left on the field Thursday night to serve as chum for the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense. The Minnesota Vikings quarterback and his battered left shoulder were beaten, bruised, bloodied and all but buried.
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By design, if that’s the correct word.
The Vikings were getting hammered by the Chargers in the fourth quarter of an eventual 37-10 humiliation that ended any fantasies about the Vikes being built to win this season. And yet with Wentz getting pounded behind an offensive line being held together by Scotch tape and sewing thread, head coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t do the humanitarian thing and take Wentz out of the game to preserve what was left of the quarterback’s 32-year-old body and pride.
With alleged wunderkind J.J. McCarthy still listed as the emergency third quarterback because of a high ankle sprain that’s taken forever to heal, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer was the backup and it seemed logical early in the fourth quarter to give the youngster some playing time. Wentz was getting killed and even when he wasn’t, he was skittish and inaccurate. Put the kid out there and get him some experience, right?
Just feel awful for Carson Wentz on a human level.
It feels legitimately irresponsible that he was allowed to play almost the entire game. pic.twitter.com/FQwdQY4NoC
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 24, 2025
Wrong. O’Connell kept Wentz in the game until the final couple of meaningless minutes, and afterward put that decision on Wentz.
"We kept on checking in, maybe getting Max ready to go," O'Connell said to reporters after the game. "Carson was sore going into it. He took obviously quite a few hits. I asked him multiple times where he was at and he said he was good and wanted to keep going."
What did you expect him to say, coach?
O’Connell also said he didn’t want to throw Brosmer into a difficult situation.
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"Carson's a veteran player," O'Connell said. "He understands some of our circumstances tonight. I think it's very difficult to ask a rookie to go in there for his first performance and have to be weathering it a little bit for the group. I did think about (putting him in) at different times in the game. The confidence we have in Max, the upside we see in Max is real, we just — you also don't want to send him out there and force a level of figure-it-out-ness that's probably beyond a guy playing for the first time. That was where the decision was to continue to go with Carson as long as Carson felt like he was healthy enough to keep playing and the medical team did as well."
In other words, Wentz was selected to take one for the team. Cannon fodder, a sacrificial lamb, in an unwinnable situation. Brosmer’s confidence was preserved while Wentz was hit again and again and again. He might still be taking hits.
Think what you will of Wentz — his NFL career has been marked by apparent personality conflicts and sometimes controversy, and he was always just a placeholder for a handful of games until McCarthy was deemed healthy enough to return — but he showed some serious grit by getting pummeled in the name of the team.
I have seen boxing matches stopped with less punishment then what Wentz is enduring. Why is KOC refusing to let Brosmer throw some short passes?
— Mark Rosen (@KFANRosen) October 24, 2025
Now he should be done. Not only as the Vikings’ starting quarterback but perhaps as an NFL quarterback, period. After that debacle, Carson, ride off to your Indiana ranch and raise those beautiful little girls with your wife. Live a happy, healthy life.
It’s time for McCarthy to take over the offense — no matter the tattered condition of the offensive line — and see what he can do. Wentz did the job for which he was surprisingly hired, getting the Vikings through McCarthy’s injury and the short week of a Thursday night game, and now it’s time for the future franchise QB to do his job.
The Vikings next play Nov. 2 at Detroit. McCarthy should be the starting quarterback then and the rest of the season.
Even if it’s ugly at times, which it will be.
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Wentz should be allowed to stand on the sideline and collect his paychecks without fear of being hammered by 300-pound defensive linemen.
O’Connell throwing him into the wood-chipper again and again against the Chargers earned him that right.
Mike McFeely
Opinion by Mike McFeely
Mike McFeely is a columnist for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. He began working for The Forum in the 1980s while he was a student studying journalism at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He's been with The Forum full time since 1990, minus a six-year hiatus when he hosted a local radio talk-show.
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