When the Vikings and Giants kicked off for their first exhibition game on Saturday, all eyes were on the both team’s quarterbacks. Before the first half ended, that narrative shifted for those watching from Minnesota.
While the Giants had second-year starter Jaxson Dart play two drives, the Vikings got an efficient, first scoring drive from new starter Kyler Murray before letting J.J. McCarthy to finish the first half. It was the expected scenario after Murray was named the starter earlier in the week.
Then, McCarthy was just ineffective enough to raise questions about whether he or Carson Wentz should be Murray’s backup.
That’s not a great development, going from the undisputed starter to begin 2025 to a competition to be the backup in 2026.
But the reality is McCarthy had little help from teammates. He didn’t have a ton of time to make an impression, two straight penalties by third-round, rookie tackle Caleb Tiernan short-circuited an entire second-quarter drive and Tai Felton dropped a well-placed, underthrow to the sideline on what would have been a first down.
McCarthy was sacked on his final play, pinned deep into his own end. Running back Zavier Scott picked up a Giants blitzer but couldn’t stop the penetration and McCarthy had few, if any, options.
While uninspiring, it wasn’t exactly a disaster for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft. The disaster came in the waning minutes of the first half when Jamal Adams went down, was carted off the field and never came back.
Adams, a two-time All-Pro safety, was making his first appearance since signing a one-year contract with Minnesota. With reports of an excellent matriculation into the defense coming out of training camp, expectations were high, and Adams almost immediately made a big play when he sniffed out and blew up a draw play for a loss.
It wasn’t immediately clear how long Adams might be unable to play, but he appears to have a long road ahead of him.
McCarthy was 4 for 7 for 34 yards. He ran a designed sweep on his first play from scrimmage for a 1-yard gain, a fair harbinger of things to come.
The Vikings were three and out on McCarthy’s first drive. On his second, facing a second-and-20, he floated an underthrow to Felton on the right sideline that was close to a first down. But while Felton was able to get himself in position to make the catch, he couldn’t finish.
It was, by a far shot, McCarthy’s best thrown pass of the day. On his three drives, the Vikings gained seven, 36 and five yards.
It’s difficult, especially for a layman, to learn a ton from an NFL exhibition game. There is too much going on, small battles and learning experiences on which a dozen coaches are focusing, most of which we don’t even notice. There are dozens of rusty players competing against another team for the first time since at least January.
There is no way to come away from watching the Vikings’ first preseason game with a read on how good the team will be when it gets real against the Packers on Sept. 13. They scored a touchdown, with the help of two pass-interference calls, on a pass from Wentz to Price in the third quarter. Wentz finished 9 of 14 for 81 yards — he got extended time in the second half as Max Brosmer dealt with an injury — and the one touchdown to Price, who made a one-handed grab while falling to the ground.
On the other hand, one doesn’t have to be Tom Landry to understand that McCarthy did nothing to help his cause. One quarterback competition at TCO Performance Center ended this week when Murray officially won the starting job. But now there is a new one.
For second place.