Facing a Chicago Bears defense that has been one of the worst in the NFL this season, J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings offense struggled to really get anything going in a Week 11 game on Sunday that eventually turned into a loss.
At one point, Vikings fans felt like they had no other choice than to boo McCarthy and the offense after another drive resulted in no points.
Following Sunday's loss to the Bears, McCarthy was asked about the boos from fans inside U.S. Bank Stadium, and the young quarterback kept it honest with his answer.
"We've got the greatest fans in the world, and they expect a lot more out of us and rightfully so. I feel like it's just a reminder to us that we better get going and we better figure this out.
Obviously, we don't [have] a whole lot of games left, so the urgency is at an all-time high. But we've just got to be better for the fans, especially at home."
Minnesota Vikings fans already losing patience with J.J. McCarthy
As poorly as McCarthy played on Sunday, the Vikings were a missed field goal away from getting a win over Chicago. But that didn't happen, and now it's back to the drawing board for Minnesota to figure out how to remain competitive while simultaneously developing a young quarterback.
Based on the last two weeks, trying to win games while also attempting to develop a young signal-caller might not be possible if the Vikings want McCarthy to ever live up to the expectations he was given when he was a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
In Sunday's loss to the Bears, McCarthy only completed 50 percent of his passes (16-of-32) for 150 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
His final totals don't really paint the whole picture of how underwhelming he was in the matchup, as 51 percent of his total passing yards and 38 percent of his total completions were accumulated on Minnesota's final offensive drive of the game.
For whatever reason, McCarthy has struggled significantly more in his three starts inside U.S. Bank Stadium than in the two starts he's made for the Vikings on the road this season.
Coincidentally, Minnesota is 2-0 with him starting on the road this year, and 0-3 when he's been the starter on their home field.
The next two games on the Vikings' schedule won't be played inside their home building, so does that mean McCarthy will turn things around and lead the team to two straight victories?