Last Sunday, J.J. McCarthy watched from the sideline as undrafted rookie Max Brosmer put together one of the worst performances by a quarterback in Minnesota Vikings history.
Since then, it has seemed like Brosmer's performance was a bit of a wake-up call for Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and the rest of his staff about the true capabilities of their young quarterbacks.
O'Connell has already talked about Minnesota's signal callers taking a different approach heading into their Week 14 matchup against the Washington Commanders, and McCarthy confirmed this mindset when speaking to reporters on Thursday.
"A lot of the mentality has changed, for sure. I was just so focused on doing every rep perfect and making sure every little detail was crossed and checked off.
I feel like coach O'Connell and coach McCown, them talking to me about 'Hey, let's worry about that stuff in the offseason. Go out there, play your ball, just execute the play,' that just frees up a lot of space mentally to be instinctual, react, and respond to what the defense is giving me."
Minnesota Vikings finally decide to make things easier for J.J. McCarthy
Thankfully, O'Connell has decided to simplify his offense to help out his young quarterback. Unfortunately, it's happening with only five games left on the 2025 schedule and with the Vikings essentially out of playoff contention.
Making things easier for McCarthy shouldn't be viewed as a bad thing either. It's probably the approach O'Connell should've taken at the beginning of the season instead of expecting his second-year quarterback with no starting experience to know how to run his offense like he's a 15-year vet.
Hopefully, McCarthy and Minnesota will finally be able to get the ball rolling on offense, and at the very least, Vikings fans can actually react to their favorite team scoring touchdowns again.
It's sad that this is what the season has come to, as Minnesota's 2025 offense has been one of its worst in the history of the franchise. But perhaps it's what needed to happen for O'Connell to realize that there are going to be times where he has to significantly adjust his offense in order to win games.