The inconsistent play continued for J.J. McCarthy during the Vikings’ 19-17 loss to the Bears on Sunday. In a game where the Bears got off to a slow start, McCarthy’s lack of accuracy throughout much of the game kept his team from taking advantage.
While mistakes and inconsistencies are nothing unusual for a young quarterback making his fifth career start, McCarthy is particularly under the spotlight after the Vikings went 14-3 with Sam Darnold last year and Darnold now continuing his run of success in the Pacific Northwest.
McCarthy is also simply missing open receivers and opportunities, especially when targeting the left side of the field. Against the Bears, McCarthy completed just 50% of his passes as he went 16-of-32 for 150 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He did not complete a pass in the second half until the Vikings’ final drive of the game, which saw McCarthy lead an 85-yard touchdown drive to take a 17-16 lead.
This is the kind of non-competitive miss from J.J. McCarthy that offenses just can't have. pic.twitter.com/uLRE1uM4S1
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 16, 2025
"There are some plays where he's making it hard on himself,” Kevin O’Connell said of McCarthy and his mechanics on Monday. “That's probably the most frustrating part for him. It's talked about and repped and practiced at length, and then in those moments, in his fifth start—just the variance to it is causing his job to be more difficult than it needs to be. He’s wildly capable of making the throws that present themselves. There were some good throws in there as well.”
Overall this season, McCarthy has completed 52.9% of his passes for 842 yards, six touchdowns and eight picks, but O’Connell believes he can become more accurate and consistent.
"He's made of the right stuff,” O’Connell added of McCarthy. “He's gonna keep working at it, we're gonna go back to work and continue to find every avenue to try to help build the consistency to his mechanics, and then I firmly believe the accuracy will come from that. It’s been tried and true and tested with other players ... and that’s what we’re gonna keep working towards. Knowing he’s got what it takes to do some of the things he’s been able to do and be at his best late in games, we’ve got to find a way to find that consistency early.”
O’Connell has become known for his work as a quarterback guru, and his belief that “organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations.” In McCarthy, he faces his next test as he looks to help him transform into a consistent quarterback that will bring the Vikings back to their winning ways.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin O'Connell Gives Honest Review of J.J. McCarthy's Shaky Start With Vikings.
