The Minnesota Vikings entered their preseason opener with the quarterback order finally set, but every Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy snap still mattered -- McCarthy’s more so than Murray’s. One had just won the job and the other needed to prove he was good enough to back up the winner.
Kevin O'Connell gave Murray the opening series against the New York Giants, then let McCarthy handle most of the first half. Murray guided a 54-yard field-goal drive, completing 2 of 3 passes for 10 yards and converting third-and-7 with Jordan Addison.
Gap between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy surfaced immediately for Minnesota Vikings
In his postgame press conference, O'Connell sounded like a coach who wanted his new starter to get some reps, put up some points and take a seat. “I thought Kyler had command early. It was great to see him go out there and run the show and move the team.”
Murray's sample size was limited because O'Connell only wanted to see a drive -- preferably a scoring one -- reducing the risk of injury. How smoothly he operated from under center and managed a run-heavy series featuring Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason was exactly what O'Connell wanted to see four days after naming him QB1.
McCarthy's entrance had a considerably different vibe. On his first snap, he kept a ball that was supposed to go to the jet-sweep runner. “We were trying to get that ball out on the edge there, and when J.J. had the ball, my life was flashing before my eyes on his first snap of the day,” O'Connell said.
McCarthy recovered enough to make an intermediate completion to Myles Price that O'Connell called “big time,” praising the quarterback for hanging in the pocket and throwing between the numbers. That rep fit the arm talent Minnesota drafted 10th overall in 2024; the botched exchange fit a 23-year-old backup who needs cleaner details.
Saturday's sequence didn't decide the competition because O'Connell had already done that, but it did give SKOL Nation a snapshot of why Murray won it. Now it becomes a question of whether McCarthy can show he's worthy of the QB2 spot over the next two weeks of preseason performances.
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