Given that he had no actual in-game NFL experience before last Monday, plenty of people have expected J.J. McCarthy to struggle in his first season as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. Well, in Minnesota's loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, those struggles happened, and McCarthy's inexperience played a major role in the outcome.
Following Sunday's loss to the Falcons, the young Vikings quarterback has now completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 301 yards (7.3 per attempt), two touchdowns, and three interceptions in his first two NFL starts, in addition to getting sacked a total of nine times.
After the Week 2 loss to Atlanta, McCarthy kept it very honest when he was asked about how he thinks he's performed so far in Minnesota's first two games of the 2025 season.
"We got a lot to do, and I got a lot to do personally. There's a lot of things about this game that show up, and it's awesome to be a part of such a great group where I know we're gonna grow together, I know we're gonna learn together, there's a lot of love in that locker room, and that's what it comes down to.
This is a long season. Everyone's telling me this is a freaking journey, and I believe them wholeheartedly.
So, it's just about getting back to the drawing board and working on just getting better at the little things and executing the simple things better."
Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy isn't afraid of failure
McCarthy's honesty after Sunday's game was very refreshing. Yes, he did insert some clichés that he probably learned from Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, but he also took ownership of his mistakes, and he highlighted how the culture of the team's locker room is built to handle adversity.
No one expected Minnesota to go undefeated this season, and many knew McCarthy was going to experience plenty of growing pains. How the Vikings' 22-year-old quarterback moves forward and handles those growing pains is really what is most important.
But judging by how McCarthy has recovered from some difficulties in the past, even in his short time with Minnesota, there's a good chance that he's going to respond in a major way the next time he takes the field.