"MINNEAPOLIS -- J.J. McCarthy's first season as an NFL quarterback has gone so poorly that, on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings wanted nothing more than for him to remember what it's like for good things to happen. So, in front of a subdued home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium, coach Kevin O'Connell dialed up an approach that combined a series of small wins for McCarthy into one of the biggest victories in team history."
"It made the Vikings the first NFL team to secure a shutout after being shut out themselves in their previous game, and it represented a reawakening for an offense that hadn't scored a touchdown in 22 possessions entering the game. But more than anything, O'Connell said afterward, it featured McCarthy "out there hopefully absorbing the feeling of what winning football can be for our team when our quarterback plays winning football.""
"He missed the Vikings' 26-0 loss in Week 13 in Seattle because of a concussion, but he entered Sunday's game with the NFL's third-lowest QBR (24.1) among the 50 quarterbacks who had made at least one start over that span. O'Connell elected to receive after the Vikings won the opening coin toss, the opposite of his normal approach, because he wanted to "kind of lift the building in a lot of ways where we avoid any sort of feeling of ... here we go again.""
J.J. McCarthy's rookie season struggled, prompting the Vikings to seek a morale reset. Coach Kevin O'Connell crafted a plan of incremental successes that produced a 31-0 win over the Washington Commanders, the franchise's largest shutout margin since 1980. The victory made Minnesota the first NFL team to follow a shutout loss with a shutout victory and ended an offense stretch of 22 possessions without a touchdown. O'Connell emphasized letting McCarthy experience winning football. With a 5-8 record, playoff hopes are slim and the team prioritized stabilizing McCarthy after a recent concussion and a 24.1 QBR.
Read at ESPN.com
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