Vikings Should Have Never Started JJ McCarthy

There was never any expectation of fireworks in the Minnesota Vikings’ Week 18 game against the Green Bay Packers. Matt LaFleur’s team was locked into the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs, while Kevin O’Connell’s squad was already eliminated.

Regardless, the Vikings opted to start J.J. McCarthy despite his ongoing hand fracture. A key focus was getting Justin Jefferson the 53 yards he needed to extend his 1,000-yard streak, and he got it done. Another priority was giving the rookie quarterback one more game for development, but that never materialized. The predictable priorities played out in a meaningless finale.

It’s great that Minnesota recorded a 16-3 victory against their top rival, but it’s less than ideal that the game looked like a preseason contest in January.

JJ McCarthy is who we thought he was

It was December 21 when J.J. McCarthy left the game against the New York Giants after suffering a broken hand. KOC then kept him sidelined on Christmas Day against the Detroit Lions because, well, his hand was still broken. Yet in the meaningless Week 18 finale against the Green Bay Packers, they started him anyway, even though his hand was … still broken.

#Vikings QB JJ McCarthy said he refused to take a toradol shot in his hand because he didn’t want anything to “numb the pain.”

McCarthy also said the pain level heading into today’s game was an “8 and a half out of 10.”

🎥: @ESPNNFL via IG pic.twitter.com/1PnYkVXBCP

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) January 4, 2026

Yes, that was a real report. The Minnesota Vikings quarterback opted against pain management pregame to play through his fractured had, and then couldn’t finish the contest. The entirety of this situation is truthfully something else.

The level of culpability runs deep here. J.J. McCarthy has become a major concern from a durability perspective. He missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury. Then he hurt his ankle against the Atlanta Falcons and missed more time. And, now with the hand, the decision to start him at diminished health went exactly as you’d imagine.

McCarthy threw for 182 yards on 14-of-23 passing, but he sailed potential touchdown passes to Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson. The mechanics continued to be a mess, and his lack of self-awareness (not the first time) was on display right out of the gate.

Again, self-awareness isn’t exactly a trait of J.J. McCarthy’s pic.twitter.com/6uOgotvILH

— Ted (@tlschwerz) January 4, 2026

Minnesota is apparently determined to avoid repeating the same mistakes with the quarterback room in 2026 that plagued them this year. The starting point for that would be trusting McCarthy to contribute meaningfully. Until there’s a substantive reason to believe he can, it’s time to stop giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Justin Jefferson gets his for MN Vikings

While the result didn’t matter, individual performances certainly did. McCarthy struggled to get out of his own way, while the clear focus was getting Justin Jefferson the ball early and often. Needing just 53 yards to reach 1,000 for the sixth consecutive season, he surpassed the mark before the QB bowed out.

Now just the third wide receiver in NFL history (Randy Moss, Mike Evans) to record six straight seasons of 1,000 yard production to start his career, Jefferson was given his flowers. Short of Carson Wentz (who he averaged 94.5 yards per game with) the quarterback play by MN Vikings signal callers left plenty to be desired.

Aided by Max Brosmer’s passing (who also embarrassed himself in the contest) Jefferson recorded his first stateside 100-yard game in more than a year.

The Minnesota Vikings know that they need to fix things next season. Jefferson shouldn’t request a trade, but he’s going to expect competency from the person throwing him the ball. Kevin O’Connell didn’t provide him that this season, and there will need to be assurances if the Vikings expect their non-diva wide receiver to stay the course.