MINNEAPOLIS — J.J. McCarthy finished his first regular-season game for the Minnesota Vikings with a flourish, refusing to let early struggles sidetrack his focus in the daunting environment of a night game on the road against a division rival with a national television audience watching.
He gets to play at home this time, and with the hero’s welcome that will surely be a part of it.
“Extremely excited to hear that ‘Skol’ chant, just feel that energy, that exuberant environment,” McCarthy said, referencing the hands-over-heads clap that Minnesota fans have established as a rhythmic ritual that crescendos right before kickoff at U.S. Bank Stadium.
After rallying from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field to beat the Chicago Bears 27-24 in an NFC North Division matchup on “Monday Night Football” and commence their first season with McCarthy as the starting quarterback, the Vikings are about to host the Atlanta Falcons (0-1) in their home opener — and on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” giving the 22-year-old another opportunity in the spotlight.
McCarthy, who had meniscus repair surgery on his right knee last year that kept him out for the entirety of his rookie season, has played in two preseason exhibitions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Those were no-stakes games with nothing quite like the prime-time buzz that will encircle the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft when he first steps on the turf this weekend.
If playing his first NFL game in his hometown in the face of heckling from a loud crowd, an interception return for a Bears touchdown, and a total of 85 yards by the Minnesota offense through three quarters didn’t overwhelm McCarthy, well, the hype from a friendly atmosphere and a national audience for the league’s biggest weekly showcase ought not to distract him.
“It’s definitely a lot quieter when we have the ball on offense. That’s something that’s going to be great, to be able to operate clean and crisp where everyone knows what they’re doing with no miscommunication,” McCarthy said. “I’m definitely looking forward to a lot of things, just seeing the purple in the stands. At the end of the day, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
In between his road and home debuts, McCarthy had a far more eventful experience during the week. He left the practice facility for the hospital on Thursday to be with his fiancée, Katya Kuropas, for the birth of their first child, an 8-pound, 7-ounce boy named Rome. McCarthy was back at practice Friday.
McCarthy will have to play again without standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Still in the final stage of his recovery from ACL and MCL repair surgery, Darrisaw was ruled out Friday for Sunday’s game.
The absence of a roster move for Darrisaw has indicated he’s close to returning, and O’Connell said Friday the fifth-year pro, who has been practicing with a large brace on his left knee, did not have a setback. Justin Skule struggled in pass protection in Darrisaw’s place against the Bears.
“He’s still so far ahead of schedule and in such a great place on the daily that we just want to continue that,” O’Connell said of Darrisaw. “We’re just going to continue to work through it the right way, as we kind of like to handle everything around here.”
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is just slightly ahead of McCarthy on the NFL learning curve, entering his fifth career start. Taken two spots ahead of McCarthy in last year’s draft, only six weeks after the Falcons spent $100 million guaranteed in free agency on Kirk Cousins when the Vikings passed on bringing the three-time Pro Bowl selection back, Penix will take his turn Sunday night playing in unfavorable conditions against a strong pass rush behind a loud crowd.
Penix replaced Cousins as the starter last season two weeks after Atlanta’s 42-21 loss at Minnesota, which gave him a valuable sideline view of the unorthodox and versatile scheme that Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores employs.
“They heated us up a lot last year,” said Penix, who had 298 passing yards and totaled two touchdowns in last weekend’s season-opening loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFC South rival and the division’s four-time reigning champion. “We’ve just got to make sure we come out ready for anything that they can do.”
While the Falcons got their passing game going, they found little success on the ground. Pro Bowl running back Bijan Robinson gained just 24 yards on 12 carries.
“You don’t want that first game to deter you as a player and as an offensive unit,” Robinson said. “We expect something different, and we don’t want that result ever again.”
As for the McCarthy-Penix matchup, the last one was on an even bigger stage.
Though it’s ultimately no more than a storytelling angle for the NBC broadcast crew, the game also marks a rematch of sorts of the College Football Playoff national championship game for the 2023 season, when McCarthy led the Michigan Wolverines to a 34-13 victory over Penix and the Washington Huskies. The pair of quarterbacks got to know each other during the training process ahead of the draft.
“He’s a genuine guy,” Penix said. “And a guy who can make football plays.”
The admiration is mutual.
“It’s no surprise he’s in the position that he’s in right now. I’m just extremely excited to see him again and compete against him,” McCarthy said. “He’s a great player, and it’s going to be a good test for our defense.”
The game is also a second chance for Minnesota’s offense to get going sooner after kickoff rather than later.
Not even two-time All-Pro first-team receiver Justin Jefferson was immune to mistakes for the Vikings during their rough start against the Bears, letting a third-down throw slip through his hands and running a route short of the sticks on a third-down pass he caught.
However, he also went low to snag McCarthy’s first touchdown throw as a pro, pulling the Vikings within five points, and coach Kevin O’Connell said without prompting how proud he was of Jefferson’s leadership and maturity.
“This is a guy who expects to go out there and make a play every single play, and we weren’t necessarily doing the things across the board, myself included, to have the success that we wanted,” O’Connell said. “Maybe at times, people want to see a Gatorade cooler thrown or a bench knocked over or something. It was just about poise. It was about understanding the things that were happening were as much to do with things we could correct by just doing our jobs a little bit better.”