In what felt like a preseason game between the two-win New York Giants and a 7-8 Minnesota Vikings team that cannot reach the playoffs, it’s only prudent to compare Minnesota’s quarterback performances. J.J. McCarthy finished nine of 14 for 108 yards, a pick, and a lost fumble before leaving at the end of the half with a hand injury. Max Brosmer stepped in and finished seven of nine for 52 yards and a touchdown. Brosmer’s 90.7 passer rating was nearly double McCarthy’s.
“Max stepping in, how about that?” Kevin O’Connell said. “Stepping in and functioning at a high level, throwing some completions here and there, running the show.”
The Vikings play in four days. Their Christmas Day game against the Detroit Lions would feel meaningful if they hadn’t blown the Chicago Bears game at home with a special teams blunder, and if they had taken advantage of winnable games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens. Instead, it’s a game between two teams that probably won’t make the playoffs.
Imagine a world in which the Vikings are 9-6 heading into that Lions game. Dan Campbell has predictably ground his team into dust, and that team isn’t the same without Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn coordinating their offense and defense. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers lost Micah Parsons two weeks ago and blew a 10-point lead to the Chicago Bears with five minutes to go this week.
The Vikings would have had a direct path to the playoffs, with two division wins securing it. They would enter with a championship-caliber defense in a relatively wide-open NFC. J.J. McCarthy, or whoever is under center, would have to play well enough, with a stockpile of highly compensated weapons around him, to Sherpa this team to the mountaintop.
Instead, the NFL is treating America to a game between the Vikings and Lions. Minnesota entered December with less than a 1% of making the playoffs, and Detroit’s chances are dwindling. So, let’s focus on something that could make that game interesting.
What if Max Brosmer looks like Brock Purdy in the final two weeks?
It seems unlikely that McCarthy will start in four days. Kevin O’Connell said that X-rays were negative on his right hand, meaning he avoided a broken bone. However, the team will further test the hand to see if he has ligament damage. After the game, O’Connell said he wasn’t sure McCarthy was able to grip the ball on the strip sack that ended his day.
“I have not seen the play, but apparently it happened before his touchdown run,” O’Connell said, while adding that McCarthy didn’t mention discomfort with his hand earlier in the game. “When we went out for the next drive, that’s when he seemed to have some discomfort there. So we’ll evaluate it and make sure we find out what’s going on there.”
McCarthy bruised his hand in Minnesota’s Week 10 game against the Baltimore Ravens, but he played through it. However, the Vikings have been cautious with him this season. McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2, and they held him out until Week 9. He also missed Week 12’s game in Seattle with self-reported concussion symptoms.
Given how they’ve handled McCarthy, it’s likely that Brosmer starts on Thursday. If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate for McCarthy, who had played well the past two weeks. He wasn’t as sharp against the Giants, but still ran for a touchdown.
McCarthy also threw a potential touchdown pass that Jordan Addison dropped.
So, there’s a world in which McCarthy leaves the game with a meaningfully better passer rating. And who knows what he would have done in the second half? However, Brosmer stepped in and guided a wayward-looking team to victory.
Look at this pass to Justin Jefferson on third-and-17:
“I told Max, if you felt like there was grass out there, I just want you to lay it out there and let him go get it,” said O’Connell. “Thought it was a phenomenal throw to get it up and over the flat defender.
“It was Max making a big-time throw and giving Justin Jefferson a chance.”
The Vikings are committed to J.J. McCarthy. They spent a first-round pick on him two years ago and moved on from Sam Darnold after his Pro Bowl season. He still has time to prove he can be a franchise quarterback.
Still, how fun would it be if Max Brosmer throws all over the field against Detroit on Christmas? Makes that game in Seattle a distant memory. That feels like something worthy of a primetime game.
