J.J. McCarthy’s unconvincing first season as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings continued on Sunday as he significantly struggled to move the offense in their Week 11 matchup with the Chicago Bears.
Did The Vikings Make A Mistake Replacing Sam Darnold With J.J. McCarthy?
The Vikings were left with a huge decision following the end of the 2024 season after Sam Darnold thrived as their signal-caller, revitalizing his career with a 4,000-yard season in which he threw 35 touchdowns and led Minnesota to a 14-3 record.
But instead of re-signing Darnold and preventing him from getting to free agency, the Vikings allowed him to walk and went with the 10th overall pick McCarthy as the starter after he missed the entirety of his rookie year with a knee injury.
Darnold is now in the thick of the MVP race for a red-hot Seattle Seahawks team and, as McCarthy endured another difficult afternoon against the Vikings’ NFC North rivals, a Super Bowl champion with Seattle asked the question that will be on the lips of many Minnesota fans.
At the end of the third quarter, McCarthy had just 74 passing yards, having completed only 10 of his 22 pass attempts and thrown two interceptions, with the Vikings trailing 16-3. A Jordan Mason touchdown run early in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 16-10.
McCarthy was booed by sections of the home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium after sailing a third-down throw over the head of Justin Jefferson. Despite struggling for most of the game, McCarthy did lead the team to a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t enough for the win though, as the Vikings fell to 4-6.
And that led Richard Sherman to ask the question on social media regarding how the Vikings’ attack might be performing had they stuck with Darnold.
Sherman wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “What would the Vikings offense look like if they decided to just keep Sam Darnold?”
What would the Vikings offense look like if they decided to just keep Sam Darnold?
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) November 16, 2025
Of course, Sherman knows the likely answer to that question. With a hugely successful year under his belt playing for Kevin O’Connell last season, Darnold likely would have picked up where he left off and had the Vikings’ offense performing at an extremely high level.
The bet the Vikings made was that McCarthy would grow into a quarterback capable of delivering similar production after his injury-enforced redshirt year. His development has been hindered by further injuries, with McCarthy missing five games this year due to a high-ankle sprain.
But the harsh reality is that, with McCarthy having entered Week 11 without a 250-yard passing game and ranked 35th of 38th qualifying players in PFSN’s QB Impact metrics, Minnesota’s gamble looks increasingly misjudged.
Unless there are tangible signs of growth from McCarthy down the stretch run, the Vikings will enter the offseason with questions about the decision to move away from Darnold sure to be the dominant storyline.