At 4-6, the playoff dream is likely dead for the Minnesota Vikings. But as one door closes, another often opens, and the Vikings would be remiss if they didn’t take advantage of a clear opportunity.
While quarterback J.J. McCarthy‘s development has crawled at a snail’s pace at times, it might benefit the Vikings to try and speed things up a little — literally. Kevin O’Connell has used the hurry-up offense just 8.5% of the time this season, or 15th most in the NFL. And yet, in what was almost a game-winning drive on Sunday, McCarthy went six for eight for 76 yards and a touchdown running hurry-up. He had been 10 for 24 with 75 yards and two interceptions until that drive.
JJ McCarthy using his eyes to create a window for this back shoulder ball to Jordan Addison. pic.twitter.com/5caIIZJCiC
— 𝙆𝙖𝙨𝙚 (@verysadvikings) November 17, 2025
Not long ago, in the Kirk Cousins days, the Vikings really didn’t need to go into hurry-up. O’Connell could scheme receivers open with a pinpoint-accurate quarterback, limiting the need to force the defense into mismatches or fatigue. But with 22-year-old McCarthy under center, one-read plays and a quick, adrenaline-filled pace might be an undiscovered offensive energizer.
Most of McCarthy’s issues have been with his lack of accuracy. His 52.9% completion percentage unsurprisingly ranks last in the NFL among qualified passers, and his 5.7% interception rate is also dead last by a mile. Not great. Through five starts, it’s already painfully obvious that those issues are far from being corrected. Short of putting Josh Allen’s throwing mechanics coach on a red-eye flight, lightening the mental load might be the next best option.
While people will inevitably compare McCarthy to another maligned Vikings first-round quarterback in Christian Ponder, their issues are far from similar. Ponder often seemed lost in the speed of the game and looked like a deer in headlights while reading the field. On the other hand, McCarthy has the awareness and the confidence. He just can’t hit open receivers between the numbers, which is sort of a significant aspect of quarterbacking.
This is the kind of non-competitive miss from J.J. McCarthy that offenses just can't have. pic.twitter.com/uLRE1uM4S1
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 16, 2025
Although O’Connell maintains that the accuracy issues will get resolved, he admits that McCarthy might be putting too much pressure on himself on Sundays.
“There are some plays where he’s making it hard on himself,” O’Connell said. “That’s probably the most frustrating part for him. It’s talked about and repped and practiced at length, and then in those moments, in his fifth start, just the variance to it is causing his job to be more difficult than it needs to be.”
What better way to take overthinking out of the equation than running hurry-up more throughout the game? It was the only thing working last week, and, frankly, the Vikings aren’t in a position to discount fruitful methods, even if it’s unexplored territory. McCarthy completed 72.3% of his passes during his final season at Michigan, so maybe the issues are just all mental.
During Jayden Daniels’ rookie season last year, the Washington Commanders used hurry-up 62% of the time, by far the most in the league. It allowed them to create mismatches, get more chances at the plate to score, and, most importantly, reduce the mental load on their young quarterback. Minnesota’s offense ranks 22nd in scoring in the NFL, and it’s mainly due to a lack of any rhythm.
Could it be that a hurry-up offense is what McCarthy needs to get out of this funk? McCarthy is somewhat of an anomaly among young quarterbacks. There haven’t been many times he’s looked lost on the field or thrown into quadruple coverage like many young signal-callers.
Still, his accuracy issues when delivering the ball have derailed any chance the Vikings had of making a deep postseason run. It’s not hard to get McCarthy to play like a man possessed; after all, anyone with a gameday alter ego doesn’t need much convincing. But the Vikings have yet to find a way to harness that intensity and use it for good.
In McCarthy’s memorable Week 1 comeback against the Chicago Bears, he threw or ran for three total touchdowns in the fourth quarter, which was another prime example of his success when the only thought running through his brain was simply: “Win.” Now, the Vikings find themselves in an intriguing position, with the playoffs virtually out of reach, which may allow them to experiment a bit more with rhythm and flow in developing McCarthy.
Despite coming up short last week, O’Connell was pleased with how J.J. finished.
“I told him earlier in the game,” O’Connell said, “no matter what this day has been like, I’m going to tell you at the end of this, ‘You just moved the ball down the field to help us win this game, and I’m proud of you.'”
Maybe a few more of those brief, gorgeous moments could be in store if the Vikings are ready to embrace them.