I’ll start with the juiciest part: J.J. McCarthy came in for the New York Giants and nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, with the Giants down 34-10 in the 4th quarter. He threw for 243 passing yards, rushed for 26 more, and threw one passing touchdown, but he also threw an interception in…drumroll…11 minutes.

As a Daily Norseman contributor, I feel it necessary to discuss this. Okay, you twisted my arm… I want to discuss it.

The DN game-day discussion (and Vikings-related social media) ran the gamut from calling the trade the worst thing to happen to the Vikings since the 1998 NFC Championship Game to casually dismissing it as a giant nothingburger, swiping it away like a gnat at a picnic.

As I found myself during the heated Kirk Cousins debate that divided the fan base in DN daily threads and elsewhere, I believe both sides have some truth. I feel the truth fell somewhere in the middle. This time? I think there’s a better chance of a clear victor.

Watching it live, McCarthy showed the same flashes of magic he did last season. The guy clearly has an intangible quality you can’t coach. I actually forgot it was a Giants game for a moment; I was rooting so hard for him to pull it off.

But a few important caveats. First, the New Orleans Saints’ game plan was designed for Jameis Winston, not McCarthy. Second, up 34-10, the Saints clearly played a more prevent defense to keep the Giants’ offense off the field. That said, McCarthy did manage chunk completions. Third, the Saints’ defense is not that good. Finally, while he had an interception, McCarthy should have had a second one that could have made the rest of the excitement moot.

As the episode unfolded, I kept asking myself: How could the Vikings give Christian Ponder 36 starts over four seasons and J.J. McCarthy only 10 starts in essentially one season? I simply can’t get my head around it. The Vikings ate $28.5 million in dead cap to turn the page on Cousins. Couldn’t they take a $6.95 million hit on a much higher cap to keep McCarthy around next year? You know, to ensure they at least had one QB under contract for 2027?

Yeah, yeah, I know: the 5th-year option decision loomed, too. So don’t pick it up. It would still give you more time to see the finished product. If it ended up poorly, let him walk. If he looked the part and improved, resign him to something manageable. If he became the starter and had a fantastic season, tag him to buy a season and work out a larger long-term deal. Are we just going to ignore what’s going on with Bryce Young in Carolina?

McCarthy will be the Giants’ starter until his play no longer warrants it. He has to. You know what Jameis Winston is like in his 12th season. He can take a team’s fan base to the highest of highs. Unfortunately, that also means there’s further to fall when the inevitable, inexplicable high-leverage interceptions start coming in bunches. John Harbaugh will need to go with McCarthy’s unknown potential and ceiling. The NFC East is theirs for the taking. The Eagles are going through a nightmarish season, and Jalen Hurts is now out for the year. The Cowboys have one of the worst defenses I’ve ever seen. And the Commanders are the definition of mediocrity. Winston is still available, worst-case scenario.

But hey, this discussion could end soon. The Giants hit the road to face a Houston Texans team finally playing as it should. Their defense is among the NFL’s best. McCarthy could go down there and lay an egg, similar to the Lambeau Field game last season. Sunday could have been a mirage, a fluky performance aided by fortunate circumstances. A slight detour for a career destined to be a backup quarterback.

Or…he could play well and become the quarterback I always thought he could be. I’m not going out on a limb to say the Giants would have won that game if McCarthy had started. If he strings together a series of wins over the next month, the collective agitation among Vikings fans will turn uncomfortable quickly. If he leads the Giants to the playoffs? No. No. No. No. Can’t happen. Won’t happen. Go Cowboys. Go Commanders. Heck, I’ll even root for the Eagles. Please. Someone step up.

We’re on a collision course with a J.J. McCarthy-led Giants team in the playoffs, aren’t we? It would be the most Vikings outcome imaginable. I can’t talk about this anymore.

WEEK 7 PREVIEW: A MUST WIN

The Minnesota Vikings return home, rested and (likely) close to fully healthy, to face an Indianapolis Colts team that is an absolute train wreck right now. They’re 2-4, just lost to the winless Tennessee Titans at home, their general manager Chris Ballard was fired, coach Shane Steichen could be next, rumors are swirling that their best offensive player, Jonathan Taylor, could be moved ahead of the trade deadline, and their best player in the secondary, Sauce Gardner, will likely miss the Vikings game, too. Other than that, things are going swimmingly.

For the third straight game, the Vikings will face a porous defense. The Colts rank 27th in points per game, 28th in yards per play, 26th in sacks, and 29th in interceptions. From what I see, they don’t crack the Top 20 in any other traditional defensive category: total yards allowed, pass yards allowed, or rush yards allowed. And this is even with holding the Tennessee Titans’ anemic unit to just 186 total yards (and somehow still losing). When they faced top-notch offenses this year, they gave up 523 total yards to the Kansas City Chiefs and 508 to the Baltimore Ravens.

Meanwhile, the Vikings hope to have Christian Darrisaw, Jordan Addison, Jordan Mason, and T.J. Hockenson back for this one. Even if they can’t all play, they have no excuse not to move the ball and score at least 28 points here. With Sauce Gardner out, the Colts also appear to be without other key contributors, including DE Arden Key. If the Vikings had held onto the ball, they should have come close to or surpassed 30 points against the Saints on the road. Now they’re home, facing an equally porous defense. Get it done.

Brian Flores has the Vikings defense rolling at a potentially historic pace heading into this one. I touched on this last week, so no need to repeat it. They now face a Colts offense led by Daniel Jones, who is struggling mightily. ESPN Colts reporter Stephen Holder has a great article on it this week. It hasn’t been pretty. Jones has been a turnover machine, and when he isn’t turning the ball over, things aren’t much better. As Holder noted, he’s hovering near the bottom in most categories, including QBR (30th), completion rate (29th), and yards per attempt (29th). Jones clearly hasn’t fully recovered from the torn Achilles tendon in his right (plant leg), which is always tricky for QBs. Dan Marino was never the same after his, and Kirk Cousins is just now beginning to resemble the guy he was for us, nearly three full years later.

Either way, Brian Flores is the last guy Jones wants to see on the opposing sideline. This ain’t the 2022 season anymore, and the Vikings’ bend-and-break defense won’t magically make a comeback in Week 7 of the 2026 season. Ugh, another Giants reference. No, we aren’t going to face a J.J. McCarthy-led Giants team in the playoffs. Can’t happen. Won’t happen. Don’t even contemplate it.

Anyway, what makes Jones’ struggles even more concerning is that, while not elite, the Colts WR group still has talent, even with 1,000+ yard receiver Alec Pierce out. Keenan Allen may be 34, but he’s still dangerous and leads the WR group in receptions. Josh Downs leads in receiving yards and can also stretch the defense, with a team high in 20+ receiving-yard plays. Even our old friend Laquon Treadwell is approaching 200 yards receiving so far. Tight end Tyler Warren is among the best in the NFL and leads all Colts pass catchers with 30 receptions. He’s Jones’ safety blanket, and you’d expect him to help offset the blitz barrage coming his way, both as a blocker and a quick outlet receiver.

No news here, but the Colts offense runs through superstar running back Jonathan Taylor, who is having another strong season. He’s 6th in rushing yards (492) and tied for first in position rushing TDs (7). If there is one area of concern, his yards per attempt has dropped to a career low of 4.0, down from 4.9 in 2025 and his previous low of 4.4 in 2023. He’ll face a Vikings unit that’s 5th in the NFL, giving up only 86.6 yards per game. And it’s only that high because of the head-scratching Week 4 performance against the Dolphins and Ollie Gordon II (100 yards on nine carries). Still trying to figure out what happened there.

Listen, this is the NFL: parity is the name of the game, and any team can beat any team any week. I’d hope Kevin O’Connell hammers home what happened against an underdog Colts team at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2022. Yeah, that was when the Colts led 33-0 at halftime. I know, I know, we won the game. But that uneven, undisciplined performance was a canary in the coal mine for what was to come in the playoffs against…ummm dammit…the Giants. Ugh!

Bottom line: the Colts are a talented and desperate team (a dangerous combination), but the Vikings have to win this game. A loss out of the bye will immediately awaken memories of 2016, when 5-0 into a bye became 7-7 by December 1st. Games against the Lions, Bills, Packers, and 49ers follow and will do nothing to help cram old nightmares into a wooden crate, never to be seen or heard again. If we’re going to be taken seriously as a championship contender, we need to win games like this one comfortably. And that’s what I believe will happen.