Kevin O’Connell Gets Candid on JJ McCarthy After Vikings’ Imperfect Win

The Minnesota Vikings captured an improbable road victory against the Detroit Lions in Week 9, which helped save the team’s season from the brink while also at least partially reviving both the fans’ and general sporting public’s faith in the efficacy of head coach Kevin O’Connell.

O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have been under fire for weeks after letting both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave in free agency, and doing so in favor of a then entirely unproven 22-year-old quarterback in J.J. McCarthy.

McCarthy started two games to begin the year, playing mostly poorly save for a brilliant fourth-quarter in the season-opener against the Chicago Bears, which won the Vikings that game despite an 11-point deficit. He then suffered a high-ankle sprain that sidelined him for six weeks, during which time backup Carson Wentz led Minnesota to a 2-3 record.

McCarthy returned on Sunday at Ford Field, putting up a solid overall performance and making big plays in the clutch. O’Connell spoke glowingly about his second-year QB during the postgame press conference, after McCarthy removed some of the heaping pressure from O’Connell’s shoulders.

We saw a lot of the things that he’s capable of doing. … He will only get better and better. But 2-0 on the road in the NFC North with him making some critical, critical plays for us to win the game.

Just the feel of him playing quarterback, mixed with his athleticism, protected himself a couple times when he did steal us some yardage. …. Just his presence. He’s a young player in a heck of an environment today. Really he’s had three starts, two of which [came] in very difficult road environments. And his poise, him running the show, I thought was matched by him making some big-time throws.

Really proud of the way he competed and battled today.

Kevin O’Connell, Vikings Hit With Accusations of Hubris for Letting Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones Leave in Free Agency

The play of Darnold with the Seattle Seahawks, who are 5-2 heading into a Week 9 matchup with the Washington Commanders on “Sunday Night Football,” and Jones with the Indianapolis Colts, now 7-2 after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9, have haunted O’Connell and the Vikings throughout this season.

The decisions to let both walk during the offseason have led to a considerable amount of skepticism and scrutiny in recent weeks.

“They had Daniel Jones last year, let him go. They had Sam Darnold, they let him go,” Danny Heifetz of The Ringer said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on October 22. “[McCarthy is going to have] more pressure on him than any quarterback going into next year.”

“The Vikings had a very difficult situation, decision, where do you pay Darnold $30 or $40 million a year or do you go with McCarthy? And that’s a hard decision,” Heifetz continued. “So it’s not Monday morning quarterbacking, but they clearly made the wrong decision.”

JJ McCarthy Promises More Good Things to Come for Vikings After Upset Victory Against Lions

Heifetz’s point may still turn out accurate, as McCarthy has started just three games in his career. However, he didn’t look like the wrong decision on Sunday as he made clutch plays down the stretch to both win and seal a much-needed victory in Detroit.

McCarthy was 14-of-25 passing for 143 yards, two TDs and one INT along with a rushing touchdown. So he was good, though perhaps not great. But it was his poise and the growth that both the quarterback and his team showed with McCarthy back in the lineup that should have Vikings fans at least somewhat optimistic for the second half of the season.

“Obviously a lot of excitement … and I’m just so proud of the guys,” McCarthy told FOX Sports sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi after the game. “We fought, we had a different energy this week, a different level of focus. But there’s a lot more we can clean up.”

“We haven’t reached our potential,” McCarthy continued. “We haven’t even gotten close yet.”

Broncos' QB Bo Nix has shown he can be elite after major win in Week 9

Bo Nix is a lot closer to being an elite QB for the Denver Broncos than the other end of the spectrum, and it's about time people accept this. Coming into this major Week 9 game, the Broncos were going to put up 30 points on the Texans.

Houston's defense is arguably the best in the NFL, as they just beat up on opposing QBs and do not allow much of anything through the air. What the Broncos probably planned for is exactly what happened - a low-scoring dogfight.

And in the NFL, those types of games are inevitable, and while Nix himself did not play that well, he did manage to throw for two touchdown passes, and on the Broncos' game-winning drive, made several plays and was at his best when the Broncos needed him the most.

The Denver Broncos have a special QB, and he's pretty elite in this key area

Again, not every game is going to be like Week 8 when the Broncos beat up on the Dallas Cowboys - there are so many competent teams in the NFL that do things well here and there. Nix was inaccurate, often did not set his feet, and missed a good bit of throws in Week 9.

However, the Denver Broncos got the ball back one last time in the fourth quarter, and it was clearly going to be the last time a team possessed the ball in regulation. All Bo Nix did was make plays with his legs and arm and helped lead the Broncos deep into the Texans' territory.

Folks, Bo Nix is elite late in the game when his team needs him the most, as the Denver Broncos now move to 5-2 in one-score games this year and are one of the best teams in the NFL when the fourth quarter rolls around.

Much of this is due to the QB, as the Broncos have had to mount multiple fourth quarter comebacks. It's important to make this distinction, too - Bo Nix isn't going to light up the stat sheet every single game, and the Denver Broncos are going to be in a few more of these close games late in the season.

What matters the most is the score when the clock hits zero and what the team's record is - and, by my count, the Broncos won this game and are now 7-2 on the season. Bo Nix is simply elite in this area and has been able to push the Broncos through more times than not.

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