Frederick: J.J. McCarthy has to be answer to Vikings’ current mess … or else

Everything is on your shoulders now J J McCarthy No pressure Minnesota s latest disappointment a - loss to the Chargers on Thursday night football in Los Angeles dropped the Vikings to - not a great spot for a unit with the softest portion of its schedule behind it The playoffs are looking like a longshot with games to play After a promising start the Carson Wentz era might have just ended with a thud So back to the second-year signal caller the Vikings will almost assuredly go It d be a stunning surprise if McCarthy isn t under center when Minnesota takes on Detroit on Nov His return to the spotlight will mark a crossroads for the franchise Who s to say he won t play well Insufficient top- picks have been written off as briskly as McCarthy who still has just two starts under his belt It s entirely feasible the -year-old makes major strikes over the back half of the season and elevates the Vikings back into playoff contention If he shows persistent flashes of possible stardom the Vikings have a path forward But if he doesn t if McCarthy picks up where he left off continues to struggle and Minnesota s season sputters to an uninspiring finish everything will be in question for this crew Why can t Minnesota sustain year-over-year success under this regime Why if Minnesota went cheap at signal caller is the defense and offensive line struggling so mightily And is Kevin O Connell really this grand quarterback whisperer O Connell has been unable to get the results required out of his backup quarterbacks to keep the Vikings ship afloat Wentz who was under duress for large segments of Thursday s bout manifested a lot more bad than good during his month under center And the Vikings offense on Thursday bordered on incompetent The squad s only touchdown came after an interception set the Vikings up at the Chargers -yard line and even then Minnesota required an illegal contact penalty on a fourth down to extend the drive The Vikings tallied just yards of total offense Wentz was sacked five times and threw an interception before he was mercifully taken out in favor of Gophers product Max Brosmer for the championship s final drive Sam Darnold remade his career under O Connell s tutelage last season but not Wentz Nor did Josh Dobbs or Nick Mullens At the moment it looks as though Darnold is just a good contestant If McCarthy doesn t meet a similar standard letting both Darnold and Daniel Jones the latter is starring for the upstart Colts walk out the door this offseason will serve as a massive organizational blunder and O Connell s ability to evaluate the position will be heavily scrutinized As it stands this is twice in three years that Minnesota has been ill-equipped to handle a quarterback injury It s a stark contrast to say San Francisco where Kyle Shanahan has Mac Jones playing the best football of his career in relief of injured Brock Purdy As a development the banged-up ers are - Ten months ago Minnesota looked like a Super Bowl contender Now it looks like a candidate for another rebuild The Vikings are as of now lost in the land of teams who aren t settled at quarterback and aren t good enough anywhere else to make up for that instability So now it s up to McCarthy to prove over the next two months that he is indeed that long-term answer Minnesota desperately requirements to the NFL s bulk pertinent question Otherwise an ominous offseason awaits Related Articles Vikings get embarrassed in blowout loss to Chargers in primetime Aaron Jones activated from IR What does his return mean for the Vikings Carson Wentz can t stand Thursday Night Football How d the Vikings handle the short week Vikings at Chargers What to know ahead of Week matchup Vikings picks Why we think Minnesota loses Thursday