Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season, which saw J.J. McCarthy lead the Minnesota Vikings to a comeback win over the Chicago Bears, seems like it was forever ago, as a lot has changed around the league since the conclusion of that matchup.
Among the changes are the ones that McCarthy has experienced on the field when it comes to the speed of the game. On Wednesday, the second-year Vikings quarterback shared that things have slowed down for him out on the grass since facing the Bears in Week 1.
"Yes, sir. [Things have] dramatically [slowed down].
Obviously, the more reps, you see the live bullets. But like I talked about the overall understanding of the offense, it slows everything down tremendously because you're not using that extra thinking of, you know, the ball's snapped, I have it in my hands. Is he running that route?
So, it eliminates those split-second miscues and processing that's helped tremendously throughout the year."
Everything starting to slow down for Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy out on the field
Despite how many members of the national media wanted to write him off earlier this season, McCarthy has proven that he really just needed more in-game reps to head in the right direction with his development.
Back in Week 12, he had an abysmal performance in a loss to the Green Bay Packers, where he finished with just 87 passing yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a terrible 34.2 passer rating.
It was bad, but the fact that it was McCarthy's sixth-career NFL start should've been a bigger point of emphasis when evaluating his performance, especially since it happened in a hostile road environment against one of the league's best defenses.
McCarthy has always had the tools to succeed at the pro level; he just needed time and patience to figure out how to actually utilize his skills during a game. Based on his last two starts, that patience with the young quarterback seems to finally be paying off.