Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will start his sixth career game on Sunday, at Green Bay. He has thrown at least one interception in each of them.
If McCarthy throws another on Sunday, he’ll be only the fourth quarterback in the past twenty years to throw an interception in each of his first six starts, joining Zach Mettenberger, Blake Bortles, and Deshone Kizer.
Receiver Justin Jefferson still believes in McCarthy.
“He’s a great player,” Jefferson said this week, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “He’s a great quarterback. He’s a great kid. So at the end of the day, it’s all about going out there and just relying on everybody to do their jobs and just going out there and just doing it. And of course people get involved with the media and you hear so much different negativity out in the world.
“So I’m always going to be that person for J.J. to always lean on and talk to about any of that type of stuff, and I’m always going to be that person to motivate him to always continue to be better, regardless if he’s my quarterback or not.”
McCarthy will be Jefferson’s quarterback for at least the rest of the year. Come 2026, who knows? (The Mac Jones talk is already out there.)
Wherever it does from here, the Vikings need more from McCarthy.
Jefferson does, too. He’s averaging 54.0 yards per game when McCarthy plays. During the Carson Wentz tenure earlier this year, Jefferson averaged 95.4 yards per game.
The next chance comes at Lambeau Field against the Packers on Sunday. If the 4-6 Vikings are going to turn around a season that is slipping away, now would be a good time to kick things into gear.