Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
It’s Christmas Day, Minnesota Vikings fam. Now that gifts from under the tree have been opened and the kids are (hopefully) happy, it’s time to turn our attention to what’s next on the holiday agenda — food and football.
And this year, Christmas Day football isn’t just about background noise and fantasy football championships. Because the first matchup of today’s holiday triple-header is our very own Vikings vs Lions.
Unfortunately, we will not get to see JJ McCarthy make the 10th start of his NFL career this afternoon, after the 2024 No. 10 overall pick suffered a hairline fracture in his hand last week vs the Giants.
Minnesota Vikings QB and WR struggling to get on same page
And hey, maybe that’s a good thing for highly-compensated wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who hasn’t gone for over 100 yards receiving on U.S. soil in over a year.
Because life has been especially difficult for the superstar wideout, when young McCarthy’s been the guy tasked with getting him the football. It seems every other time JJ throws to JJ, it’s the QB’s worst toss the day.
JJ McCarthy steps up in the pocket, and tried floating it to Justin Jefferson deep. #Ravens rookie Malachi Starks gets his first career interception. pic.twitter.com/d7Z1n7qfhG
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) November 9, 2025
How bad is it? When targeting Jefferson in 2025, McCarthy’s QB Rating is an impossibly brutal 38.4. But there may be a reason why the Minnesota Vikings starting QB has missed Jefferson so egregiously all season.
JJ McCarthy gets nervous throwing to Justin Jefferson?
It only took Andrew Krammer (Star Tribune) bringing it up during his weekly appearance on Matt Coller’s Purple Insider podcast Tuesday for me to hear about it.
But apparently, NBC play-by-play voice Mike Tirico gave us an answer to the JJ + JJ conundrum nearly TWO WEEKS AGO, during the Vikings vs Cowboys broadcast on Sunday Night Football (NBC).
The 22-year-old told Tirico in their pregame meeting that he’s been struggling with the pressure of feeding his superstar, and that he feels that pressure when targeting him.
To put it plainly, it sounds like JJ McCarthy gets nervous when throwing to Justin Jefferson.
Why does JJ McCarthy turn into Uncle Rico every other time he targets Justin Jefferson…?
It sounds like he’s getting nervous… which Mike Tirico apparently revealed 1.5 weeks ago on @SNFonNBC.
“JJ McCarthy was honest with us about it last night. [He told us] ‘I feel a little… pic.twitter.com/iQ77LXaTvK
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) December 25, 2025
“JJ McCarthy was honest with us about it last night. [He told us] ‘I feel a little pressure when I’m throwing the ball to him, especially early on, because he’s one of the best in the league. I wanna get him the ball, but don’t wanna force it to.’”
Mike Tirico – Sunday Night Football (NBC)
Hopefully, an offseason of development and bro bonding time between McCarthy and Jefferson will fix whatever pressure he is feeling when throwing the football to his superstar wideout.
Can Max Brosmer unlock MN Vikings Superstar on Christmas Day?
But this afternoon, McCarthy will go on the backburner for a couple of hours, while we instead pull former Gopher QB Max Brosmer from our Netflix stockings. Behind him will be John Wolford and newly reclaimed, Brett Rypien.
Most can’t forget Brosmer’s four-INT performance in Seattle earlier this season, but he came in on Sunday vs the Giants and played well, in relief of McCarthy.
Actually, Jefferson’s best catch in weeks came from the former Gopher, a gotta have it 3rd and 17 in the fourth quarter — a perfectly thrown ball placed on the sideline for Justin to grab and toe-tap in-bounds.
This drive-saving pitch and catch eventually led to a Will Reichard Field goal that won Minnesota the game 16-13.
Special.
Simply special.@JJettas2
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/RlAA1oaOd3
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 21, 2025
Brosmer will be protected by (hopefully) 3/5 of the Vikings’ starting offensive line. We will find out later today if Brian O’Neill (foot) will go vs Detroit, but LT Christian Darrisaw (knee) and C Ryan Kelly (center) are both done for the season.
Of course, that is only the beginning of more Minnesota Vikings injury news of late.
Mentioned in this article: J.J. McCarthy Justin Jefferson
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