J.J. McCarthy’s rough start looks a lot different after new revelations

After an ugly Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell revealed quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered an ankle injury during the game and he would be out for a least Week 3.

Clarity followed, with news that McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain and would miss 2-4 weeks. With the bye week coming in the midst of that, a return for Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles would potentially be in play.

After McCarthy struggled like he did against the Falcons, throwing two interceptions and taking six sacks, the idea of a "soft benching" was out there. But that never got serious traction, since the young quarterback was dealing with a legitimate injury that typically sidelines someone for multiple weeks.

Leaving the injury aside, McCarthy did not look good for most of his first two NFL starts. So the broad narratives came out, quickly declaring him to be a bust, etc. And if Carson Wentz played well in his place, would he immediately get the starting job back?

We are now heading into Week 7, and it's still unclear who will be under center for the Vikings on Sunday.

Hindsight shows the Week 2 struggles of Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy were blown out of proportion

On the Monday night stage to close out Week 6, the Falcons beat the Buffalo Bills 24-14. They sacked Josh Allen four times and picked him off twice, while also holding Bills running back James Cook under 90 yards on the ground.

The Falcons are a hard team to get a confident assessment of. They lost to the Carolina Panthers 30-0 the week after beating the Vikings, but it's clear a pass rush that has long been lacking has been bolstered.

And as Purple FTW! summed up, Atlanta's defense has been quite good overall so far this season. The passing yards number cited is net passing yards, which takes lost yardage due to sacks into account.

Where you sit on the excuses vs. reasons spectrum for that rough performance against Atlanta depends on how much faith you have in McCarthy.

But his fiancée had a baby during the week before the Falcons game, left tackle Christian Darrisaw was still out, and the rest of the offensive line was not very good. Mix in a mid-game lower-body injury, and you've got a recipe for any quarterback to struggle.

Right or wrong, Allen's resume curbed any big declarations about him after his bad game against the Falcons. McCarthy got very little (if any) of that leeway after he struggled against the same defense, but hindsight allows us to give him some as he nears a return to action.