A quick look at quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings
FLOWERY BRANCH — With the Vikings playing the Bears on “Monday Night Football,” the Falcons had the opportunity to “TV scout” their next opponent.
The Falcons (0-1) and the Vikings (1-0) are set to meet on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” at 8:20 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The Vikings, with quarterback J.J. McCarthy making his NFL debut, got off to a slow start against the Bears, but roared back to post a 27-24 victory.
“The Minnesota Vikings left everything we have out on that football field,” coach Kevin O’Connell told his players in the locker room after the game.
McCarthy, who was selected two picks after the Falcons selected Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall in the 2024 NFL draft, missed his rookie season with a knee injury. He started off slow against the Bears before he went on a heater in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings trailed 17-6 heading into the fourth quarter. McCarthy, who played at Michigan, threw two touchdowns passes and rushed for another TD to lead the rally.
After the game, O’Connell give the whole team a game ball.
“Great football team,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “We played (them) last year. Looking forward to playing them. They’ve got a new quarterback and some new things.”
McCarthy leaned on running backs Jordan Mason, who played at Georgia Tech, and Aaron Jones. Mason rushed 15 times for 68 yards. Jones caught three passes for 44 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown with 9:46 left that gave the Vikings a 20-17 lead.
McCarthy completed 13 of 20 passes for 147 yards and an interception. He finished with a passer rating of 98.5.
He also had two rushes for 25 yards, including a 14-yard TD run to make the score 27-17 with 2:53 to play.
“I could tell from the jump, he was poised,” O’Connell said. “But this guy didn’t quit (on) me, and you always thought he’d figure it out.”
The Vikings’ defense, which added defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen over the offseason, slowed the Bears after giving up a touchdown on their opening drive.
Hargrave, who played at South Carolina State, was relentless. He finished with five tackles, two sacks and two tackles for losses.
“You always have to worry about Flo (defensive coordinator Brian Flores),” Morris said.
The Vikings also had a strong showing from their special-teams units. Kicker Will Reichard made a 59-yard field goal, and Myles Price had 117 return yards (68 punt return and 49 kickoff return).
With Sam Darnold at quarterback, the Vikings blasted the Falcons 42-21 on Dec. 8. The score was tied 21-21 heading into the fourth quarter before the Vikings pulled away.
This will be the 33rd regular-season meeting. The Vikings lead the series 21-11. The Vikings have won six of the past seven meetings.
The two teams are 1-1 in the playoffs, with the Falcons getting that historic victory over the Vikings in the 1998 playoffs to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time.
The Falcons will need to improve on a poor rushing performance to contend with the Vikings. The Falcons were held to 69 yards on 28 carries. They were also stuffed twice in short-yardage situations.
“We all got beat on the fourth-and-1,” said Morris, when asked if Kyle Pitts got blown up on the first fourth-and-1 play Sunday. “We’ve got to do a better job in short yardage, period. Even the one we got, we didn’t block correctly. We’ve got to make sure we do those things right. So, we were not good on short yardage.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
