Facing a 3rd and 12 in the first half Sunday against Washington, Kevin O’Connell’s first thought had to be — “We’re going deep.”
Because, well, that’s seemingly always his first thought.
But, on this occasion, Minnesota instead ran a play in which the majority of the receivers ran deep to clear out the middle of the field for Justin Jefferson, who came out of the backfield. J.J. McCarthy hit Jefferson roughly six yards past the line of scrimmage, and Jefferson accrued seven more after the catch to convert for a first down.
The Vikings spoke all week of a pared down offense. Kevin O’Connell noted the coaching staff was placing less of an emphasis on mechanics. This week was simply about letting McCarthy go out, make good decisions and play ball.
The results: 16 for 23 for 163 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 31-0 Vikings victory over the Commanders on a day Minnesota committed itself to a run-heavy approach.
Was it perfect? No. Four sacks is still too many. And Jefferson can’t finish with two catches for 11 yards … again. You can’t do what Minnesota did offensively against Washington every Sunday and beat the NFL’s top-tier teams.
But it was progress. Which Minnesota desperately needed to see from its 22-year-old quarterback, whose first season under center had, to date, been on a downward trajectory from bad to worse. He was largely accurate and decisive, particularly in big moments with plays that kept drives alive.
A number of factors played into Sunday’s performance. The Commanders are bad. Their defense is old and terrible. Minnesota finally had stability on its offensive line.
But simplicity also seemed to play in McCarthy’s favor. Because of course it did. Perhaps some signal callers could step onto the field from Day 1 with a firm grasp of O’Connell’s complex offensive system, grip it and rip it. That was Plan A, the one that would’ve kept Minnesota on path in its immediate pursuit of a championship.
But it was clear months ago that wasn’t going to be the case for McCarthy. And rather than adjust at the first sign of trouble, Minnesota seemingly attempted to continue to jam a square peg into a round hole. Guess what? It never fit.
McCarthy’s confidence appeared to plummet, even if he never admitted as much. Players grew frustrated. The offense became unwatchable.
Finally, last week’s drubbing at the hands of Seattle appeared to open O’Connell’s eyes to the fact that while his way is clearly an effective, exciting way to play offense in the NFL, it wasn’t a good fit for the current situation.
Ideally, the coach and front office could evaluate their young quarterback within the preferred offensive system. But they also work with him on a day-to-day basis. Surely, they can learn what they have big picture while still giving their team, and their field general, the best chance to succeed in the interim.
Comments this week suggested McCarthy was given only what he could handle. In turn, he delivered one of his best performances of the season. It’s a building block. Everyone at the team’s TCO training facility this week can move forward with more … maybe confidence is too strong of a word, but … hope?
Hope they’ve found a formula that works for McCarthy. Hope he can start to form a base from which to ascend. Hope the worst is indeed behind them.
Minnesota has four games left in this season that will not end in a playoff appearance. In that time, McCarthy will attempt to stack strong performances to suggest he is the signal caller with which the franchise can move forward. There’s a lot of work to do on that front.
Over the same period, O’Connell will attempt to prove he’s capable of taking what he has and making the best of it, of helping a young quarterback grow and develop, of guiding a team to a series of professional performances when little more than pride is on the line.
Sunday was Step 1 in that process for both coach and quarterback, who continue to be linked arm in arm as they had down the backstretch of this disappointing season, hopeful for far brighter days to come.
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