There was little consternation in Minnesota when the state’s favorite professional sports team decided not sign a veteran quarterback to tutor, or at least babysit, J.J. McCarthy through his first real NFL season.

It seemed Vikings fans were ready for the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft to take the reins of a team whose fortunes seemed to be resting on the performance of its quarterback. This despite the fact that McCarthy, a national championship winner at Michigan, missed his entire rookie season because of a knee injury.

The Vikings could have re-signed Sam Darnold, a revelation as he defibrillated his career with a sensational year while leading Minnesota to a 14-3 record in 2024. But it would have been expensive, more than $40 million for a one-year franchise tag, and the Vikings were committed to McCarthy long term.

Then Aaron Rodgers, looking for one last shot at winning his second Super Bowl, threw his hat into the ring, meeting with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell over the summer to see if there would be a fit. From the outside, it seemed like a good idea. Nope.

Now the Vikings, who spent big on free-agent deals last spring to create a soft landing for McCarthy, are 3-3 and in last place in the NFC North Division after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-22, on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Sunday’s loss was largely because Carson Wentz wasn’t good enough, unable to coax his team to touchdowns on 5 of 6 drives inside the red zone and giving the Eagles their second touchdown with a pick six.

“I thought he competed,” O’Connell said.

He did, and let’s be clear. This is not a Carson Wentz issue; it’s a Vikings management issue. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, in fact, did well to sign Wentz — idle after not being picked up by anyone after last season — the week after training camp came to a close. But he waited too long. Wentz didn’t have a training camp with anyone.

On Sunday, Wentz nearly willed the Vikings down the field as they rallied to make it a one-score game late in the fourth quarter, twice converting third-and-10 plays by scrambling for 16 and 12 yards. But after T.J. Hockenson failed to corral Wentz’s pass in the back of the end zone, the Vikings settled for a field goal that made it 28-22.

Justin Jefferson probably would have caught that pass and given the Vikings a little more life than Will Reichert’s 29-yard field goal, but it was aimed at a tight end and not one of the NFL’s best two or three wide receivers.

It would be disingenuous to actually pin Sunday’s loss on Wentz, especially when the Vikings’ defense was torched by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns — the first a 37-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown on fourth-and-4 that made it 7-0, the second a 79-yarder to Brown on their first second-half possession that made it 21-6.

The Vikings held the Eagles’ struggling rushing attack to 45 yards on 23 carries, yet trailed the entire game because almost every time the Eagles needed a big play, the Vikings’ secondary complied.

Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, on the wrong end of the Eagles’ 79-yard touchdown, fell on his sword, saying, “I put it on me. I put the whole team on me. I’ve gotta make those plays.”

Hey, there was plenty of blame to go around.

Center Blake Brandel was called for holding to negate a third-down touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor (Reichard field goal) and snapped the ball over his quarterback’s head for a 22-yard loss to kill another touchdown opportunity (Reichard field goal).

Josh Metellus was burned by Brown on the Eagles’ first touchdown, and Rodgers was beat by Brown on a 45-yard, fourth-down pass deep into Vikings’ territory that essentially ended the game with 1 minute, 35 second remaining.

Wentz is just the easiest target because of the pick six and an intentional grounding penalty that ended a touchdown bid with another Reichard field goal instead. That’s 11 points in a six-point loss.

Under the circumstances, Wentz has probably exceeded realistic expectations. He certainly has been better than McCarthy was in his two starts before being lost to a high-ankle sprain. It just hasn’t been good enough — and it only magnifies the team’s big offseason decision to spend more than $200 million on free agents, then to give the keys to a quarterback who is, for all intents and purposes, a rookie.

Related Articles

Carson Wentz’s early struggles doom Vikings in loss to Eagles

The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 7: Last-minute moves

Now with Vikings, Isaiah Rodgers grateful Eagles gave him second chance

How the Vikings are building J.J. McCarthy from the ground up

Vikings vs. Eagles: What to know ahead of Week 7 matchup

PARIS — The doors of the world’s grandest museum had been opened to the public for just 30 minutes when two burglars were lifted up onto a second-floor balcony on the building’s south side.

Their faces concealed, they rode a monte-meubles, a truck-mounted electric ladder that is a common sight on the streets of Paris, where it is used to ferry bulky furniture through the windows of apartments.

Once there, they used grinders to break a window, setting off the security alarms, and burst inside the gilded Galerie d’Apollon of the Louvre Museum, where a prized collection of royal jewels and crown diamonds is held in a succession of cases.

There they smashed two cases, sounding more alarms, and snatched eight precious objects, including a royal sapphire necklace, a royal emerald necklace and its matching earrings, and a diadem worn by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, France’s 19th-century ruler.

The burglars went back down the ladder to a road shouldering the Seine and made their getaway with two waiting members of their team on motor scooters.

In all, it took no more than seven minutes.

It was the most brazen — and possibly the most costly — theft ever staged at the Louvre, which houses the country’s most prized art collections. French politicians publicly mourned the loss and railed against those they deemed responsible, loudly demanding to know how such a thing could happen at the world’s most famous museum at 9:30 on a Sunday morning.

“It seems like a scenario out of a film or a television series,” said Ariel Weil, the mayor of central Paris, where the Louvre is located.

President Emmanuel Macron said in a message on social media that the theft was “an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our History.”

Then he made a vow: “We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this.”

The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation.

Related Articles

Today in History: October 19, ‘Black Monday’ on Wall Street

Israel resumes ceasefire in Gaza and says aid deliveries will restart Monday

US will send survivors of strike on suspected drug vessel back to Ecuador and Colombia, Trump says

Today in History: October 18, ‘Mr. October’ hits three homers to clinch World Series

Gaza awaits the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, its link to the outside world

The authorities said investigators were poring through evidence that included objects abandoned by the thieves and security camera footage.

No one was hurt, the French Ministry of Culture said, though the Paris prosecutor’s office said the staff had been threatened by the thieves.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

It looked as if tight end T.J. Hockenson had made an unbelievable touchdown catch on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium to pull the Vikings even closer as they tried to complete a comeback against the Philadelphia Eagles.

As the celebration spilled over onto the sideline, however, it was announced the play was under review. That ultimately resulted in the call on the field being overturned as it was determined that Hockenson did not complete the process of the catch. The decision was ultimately made by the NFL from its replay center in New York.

Asked about the play after the game, Hockenson was visibly upset, revealing that multiple refs came up to him afterward and told him they had it as a catch.

“I don’t understand how New York can call in and be like, ‘That’s not a catch,’” Hockenson said. “There was no evidence that it wasn’t. I think it’s ridiculous. Especially when every ref came up to me after and said, ‘We had that as a catch.’”

In a pool report, the NFL’s vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth said it was determined that Hockenson lost control of the ball, which resulted in the call on the field being overturned.

“The ball hit the ground,” Butterworth said. “Then he regained control of the ball.”

That wasn’t how Hockenson saw it as he watched the replay on the big screen.

“There was nothing to overturn it,” Hockenson said. “I was out there. I felt it. My hands were under the ball.”

As the process was unfolding, head coach Kevin O’Connell said he was not privy to the conversations going on between the NFL from its replay center in New York and referee Bill Vinovich on the field.

“I did not get any clarity,” O’Connell said. “The main update that I got was incomplete pass.”

Meanwhile, veteran quarterback Carson Wentz lauded Hockenson for his effort, noting that he didn’t get a good look at the replay that was being shown on the big screen.

“All I know is I can throw a better ball,” Wentz said. said. “I can make it a little easier on him.”

Though it wasn’t technically the difference for the Vikings in a 28-22 loss to the Eagles, it certainly could’ve made for a different game script in the final minutes.

“It is what it is,” Hockenson said. “We’ve got to move on.”

On further review

Kevin O’Connell said Sunday was waiting to hear an explanation for a holding call on center Blake Brandel that negated a touchdown pass and forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal in their 28-22 loss to the Eagles.

The Vikings were going for it on fourth-and-1 late in the second quarter when Brandel got defensive lineman Moro Ojomo to the ground before Carson Wentz threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor. Brandel was called for holding, making it fourth-and-11 and forcing Minnesota to settle for Will Reichard’s 34-yard field goal to make it 14-6.

Afterward, Brandel’s review of the call could be lip-read on TV, and he didn’t agree with it. After the game, however, he relented.

“I’ve just gotta better,” he said. “Can’t do that. It cost the team.”

It appeared on replay that Brandel had hold of Ojom’s jersey under his right pad, but O’Connell said he wasn’t entirely convinced.

“It’s a normal technique,” the coach said. “It’s called the trap, when you knock a guy’s hands down.”

Brandel acknowledged he didn’t initially think he had held Ojomo, saying, “Maybe not in the moment, but I see what the refs see in that. It is what it is. I see what they saw.”

Related Articles

Carson Wentz’s early struggles doom Vikings in loss to Eagles

The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 7: Last-minute moves

Now with Vikings, Isaiah Rodgers grateful Eagles gave him second chance

How the Vikings are building J.J. McCarthy from the ground up

Vikings vs. Eagles: What to know ahead of Week 7 matchup

With a chance to stick it his former team for giving up on him early in his career, veteran quarterback Carson Wentz instead put forth a performance that justified the defending Super Bowl champions turning the page.

The mistakes from Wentz on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium were too much for the Vikings to overcome in a 28-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

He missed a surefire touchdown to receiver Jordan Addison early in the game. He threw interception that was returned for a touchdown. He inexplicably dirted a ball in the red zone and got called for intentional grounding.

Though he still managed to show some flashes throughout the game — Wentz completed 26 of 42 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown — he more often showed the inconsistency that has turned him from the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft to a journeyman backup seemingly in the twilight of his career.

A comeback attempt from the Vikings late in the game fell short as the Eagles got a long completion from quarterback Jalen Hurts to receiver A.J. Brown to put the game on ice. That forced the Vikings to lament the fact that most of their point came from kicker Will Reichard going 5 of 5 on field goal attempts.

A methodical opening drive from the Eagles forced the Vikings to chase the game from the onset.

After establishing the lime of scrimmage with a healthy dose of running back Saquon Barkley, the Eagles took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish when Hurts found Brown for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 7-0.

The shakiness from Wentz was on display from right away as he missed a wide open Addison on a throw that would have tied the game. A snap from backup center Blake Brandel later sailed over the head of Wentz for a huge loss and Reichard nailed a field goal to cut the deficit it 7-3.

It got worse from there for Wentz as he threw an interception to edge rusher Jalyx Hunt that was returned 42 yards the other way for a touchdown to helped the Eagles stretch their lead to 14-3.

The struggles from Wentz continued when he threw another interception after heaving a ball skyward while under pressure in his own end zone. The arm punt might have made sense had it not come on second down.

It looked like the Vikings had scored a touchdown later in the game when Wentz found receiver Jalen Nailor in the end zone. The points were immediately taken off the board after a holding penalty and Reichard came on to make it 14-6.

There was seemingly a chance for the Vikings to pull even once again after halftime.

A nice drive stalled out when Wentz missed fullback C.J. Ham in the flat, then made it worse by getting whistled for intentional grounding. That was another instance of the Vikings leaving meat on the bone as Reichard trotted on for another field goal to make it 14-9.

The game turned from there as  Hurts uncorked a deep pass to receiver Devonta Smith for a 79-yard touchdown that helped the Eagles make it 21-9.

After the Vikings got a touchdown run by running back Jordan Mason cut the deficit to 21-16, the Eagles missed a field goal on the other end to keep it close. Unfortunately for the Vikings they had to settle for yet another field goal from Reichard to cut the deficit to 21-19.

Another touchdown from Hurts to Brown late in the game made it 28-19 in favor of the Eagles. It was fitting that the Vikings only mustered another field goal on the next drive to finalize the score at 28-22.

Related Articles

The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 7: Last-minute moves

Now with Vikings, Isaiah Rodgers grateful Eagles gave him second chance

How the Vikings are building J.J. McCarthy from the ground up

Vikings vs. Eagles: What to know ahead of Week 7 matchup

Vikings picks: Only one true believer remaining