![\"JJ](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/NFL-Atlanta-Falcons-at-Minnesota-Vikings-27087098-scaled-e1757955010793.jpg\")
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Sunday night was supposed to be a celebration at U.S. Bank Stadium. Not only was football back in the Twin Cities, but so was Adam Thielen, who was honored pregame, lathering up Minnesota Vikings fans in attendance at U.S. Bank Stadium for what we hoped would be the perfect weekend nightcap against the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it was not that. Quite the opposite, in fact. On Sunday Night Football, with the entire world watching, the Vikings laid a dud. Outside of Brian Flores\u2019 bend-but-don\u2019t-break defensive creating some early game highlights, the 70,000+ packed into The Bank were rendered completely useless.<\/p>\n Steadily, Vikings fans went from rabid at kickoff, to nervous by halftime\u2026 and apathetic by mid-fourth quarter, after former Viking John Parker Romo kicked the Falcons to a late 15-6 lead that might as well have been 45-6.<\/p>\n What We Learned \u2013 Minnesota Vikings vs Atlanta Falcons<\/p>\n That\u2019s what happens when, less than one week after a historic comeback victory in Chicago \u2014 where we saw the Vikings score three fourth quarter touchdowns while Brian Flores\u2019 defense wrapped Caleb Williams\u2019 brain into a second half pretzel<\/a> \u2014 the offense forgets how to move the ball and your defense how to stop the run.<\/p>\n So on that note, let\u2019s dig into what we learned about the Minnesota Vikings during Sunday\u2019s lullaby 22-6 week two home loss against the Atlanta Falcons.<\/p>\n Minnesota Vikings tough in the redzone, but soft against the run<\/p>\n Before we get to the struggles of JJ McCarthy, let\u2019s discuss Brian Flores\u2019 2025 crew, and what to take away from their performance last night, one that raised just as many questions about the MN Vikings defense as it brought answers.<\/p>\n But how well did it work, really? Because the Falcons piled up<\/a> a mind-numbing 218 rushing yards, on 5.6 yards per carry. Atlanta\u2019s offense also passed for 198 yards. By himself, Bijan Robinson rushed for 22 times and accounted for 143 yards on the ground (6.5 YPC).<\/p>\n You want a shot at a lot of $$$ as WR or RB<\/p>\n Practice long sticks with one stride and drive stepping with toes of other foot pointed 90 degrees to boundary at full speed.<\/p>\n This kind of hip movement underscores great routes and RB C.O.D. <\/p>\n Bijan Robinson #Falcons<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/duFTAPdZdb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) September 15, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n Flores knew that the Falcons were going to establish the run early, if they were allowed to do so. That\u2019s how they built their team, behind the ultra-talented Bijan Robinson, especially once they moved on from Kirk Cousins as their starter.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible B-Flo was fine with that, which would explain Minnesota\u2019s \u201cbend-but-don\u2019t-break\u201d defensive strategy. You could even argue that it worked, being Atlanta didn\u2019t score its first touchdown until there was just 3:22 remaining in the fourth quarter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Combine all that with the Vikings\u2019 offensive struggles, and there should be no surprise that the Bears won the time of possession battle<\/a> 36:32 to 23:28. And when your offense is only on the field for 1\/3 of the game, you get QB stat lines like JJ McCarthy\u2019s Sunday night.<\/p>\n JJ McCarthy takes major step back<\/p>\n It took a crazed comeback in Chicago<\/a> for McCarthy to reach 143 yards passing in week one. That\u2019s not a huge deal, especially in a win.<\/p>\n In week one vs the Bears, even before he led the comeback, McCarthy looked poised and somewhat comfortable in the pocket, against the Bears, especially for a redshirt rookie making his NFL debut. He progressed through his reads, before delivering accurately and on-time to open receivers, when they were there.<\/p>\n None of that was true last night, where the Vikings\u2019 youngster looked more like a deer in headlights than he did a professional quarterback, finishing<\/a> 11\/21 for 158 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.<\/p>\n JJ McCarthy tonight:<\/p>\n \u202211\/21 Maybe he should just stick to handing the ball off<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/86DbzjLuS3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Daily MSU (@daily_msu) September 15, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n But per usual, it isn\u2019t what McCarthy did on paper that made me nervous, it was what I saw with my eyes. Sunday night, back at home with no crowd noise to deal with, JJ looked oddly uncomfortable, under the bright lights of U.S. Bank Stadium.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old struggled to get the team lined up on time, set protections properly and communicate with Kevin O\u2019Connell. Those issues led to all sorts of free pass rushers, missed blocking assignments and multiple fumbled or bobbled exchanges between McCarthy and two different centers.<\/p>\n Related: JJ McCarthy\u2019s Legendary Moment in Vikings Huddle Shook Teammates, Sparked Comeback<\/a><\/p>\n When he did get the ball in his hands successfully, life wasn\u2019t much better., as McCarthy struggled to go through reads and get the ball out on time. Worse yet, he missed throws that are normally free throws for him.<\/p>\n The kid was bouncing footballs short of his receivers, throwing them over their heads. It was an ugly night for the redshirt rookie.<\/p>\n \u201cJJ McCarthy can\u2019t throw\u201d pic.twitter.com\/SNYNFdtWEk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Blake (@RyanDayRuinedMe) September 15, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n We all expect growing pains from the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 young franchise QB this season. Last night, it was HOW he made his mistakes that was most worrisome. Going forward, what matters is how he responds.<\/p>\n Please, make the injuries stop<\/p>\n The Minnesota Vikings entered 2025 feeling downright cocky about their medical staff, even targeting injury-prone offensive and defensive linemen in free agency, in order to save a buck.<\/p>\n So far, not good. For weeks\/months, coaches and those around TCO Performance Center have been touting Christian Darrisaw\u2019s recovery and rehab from knee surgery that ended his 2024 season halfway through.<\/p>\n They were so sure of themselves that most of the fanbase and those in media expected the 25-year-old All-Pro caliber blindside protector to suit up week one.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t. Then in week two, after being a full-participant in practice all week, Darrisaw was inactive again. As a result, JJ McCarthy has been dealing with constant pressure from the left side.<\/p>\n .@AtlantaFalcons<\/a> @Vikings<\/a> Falcons rookie class all showed up and showed out @jalonwalkr<\/a> @JamesPearceJr10<\/a> @xavierwatts6<\/a> @Billy2Bowman<\/a> the Falcons have a pass rush. spread the news. #BaldysBreakdowns<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/i1XbanGQqd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 15, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n To make matters worse, there is still concern over whether or not Darrisaw will be ready to play in week three, which would raise even bigger problems, being Skule and Kelly may very-well have to sit out too, after they suffered concussions vs the Falcons.<\/p>\n On defense, the injury list just keeps growing. None of Harrison Smith, Blake Cashman (IR) or Andrew Van Ginkel were active on Sunday night, leaving massive gaps at the second and third levels that helped lead to Bijan Robinson\u2019s big day.<\/p>\n Related: Kevin O\u2019Connell Says Jettas Isn\u2019t the Diva He Sees Elsewhere<\/a><\/p>\n On both sides of the football, if the Minnesota Vikings cannot start to get healthier, it may not matter how much better McCarthy gets or how much KOC learns on the job. And for a team so confident in that department, it\u2019s time to walk the walk.<\/p>\n This team has a lot of problems, but they can\u2019t really fix them if most of their best players aren\u2019t on the field. Thankfully, the upcoming Vikings schedule is the easiest it will be all season, so there is plenty of room to turn things around.<\/p>\n Kevin O\u2019Connell needs to be better<\/p>\n There\u2019s only one person, outside of McCarthy himself, who\u2019s responsible for making sure JJ bounces back from Sunday\u2019s brutal week two showing.<\/p>\n It took just three seasons for Kevin O\u2019Connell to ascend up the NFL head coaching ranks and establish himself as, possibly, the best QB whisperer in the entire league.<\/p>\n But he needs to do more than whisper, if he wants McCarthy to develop into a top NFL quarterback. We all know that, behind the scenes, our young QB is being taken care of and coached better than most.<\/p>\n What about during games, though? Because the Minnesota Vikings are still missing their star left tackle, Christian Darrisaw, and injury issues up front just continue to get worse.<\/p>\n Some rookie-on-rookie fun with Falcons first-round pick James Pearce Jr. beating Vikings first-round pick Donovan Jackson for the sack. <\/p>\n Pearce had a 23% pass rush win rate at Tennessee last season. pic.twitter.com\/IwFQC0EO2k<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) September 15, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n Beyond injuries, though, it sure seems like there is too much on the young QB\u2019s plate pre-snap, when it comes to offensive checks and protections, causing late breaks out of the huddle and rushing at the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n It\u2019s on O\u2019Connell, especially if the line doesn\u2019t get healthier this week, to simplify the process for JJ McCarthy so he can play fast and loose.<\/p>\n Oh, and when you have short yardage situations, how about we just give the ball to Jordan Mason (since that\u2019s why the Vikings got him), instead of play action fake tosses and\/or QB sneaks that continue to fail?<\/p>\n This is the one I keep coming back to.<\/p>\n JJ McCarthy has drove you down the entire field. You\u2019ve been sworn by running the ball the entire game, but when you have the ball at the two yard line, you don\u2019t. pic.twitter.com\/hvNGGG5hx9<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \ud835\ude46\ud835\ude56\ud835\ude68\ud835\ude5a (@verysadvikings) September 15, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n There is no doubting KOC\u2019s abilities as a play-caller or his future as an NFL head coach. But it\u2019s on him to make life easier for JJ McCarthy going forward. And if he can\u2019t, then nothing he has done to this point will matter.<\/p>\n MN Vikings hope on the horizon\u2026?<\/p>\n Next week<\/a>, they will host a Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals, before flying overseas to defend their undefeated international record against the Cleveland Browns (week 4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (week 5).<\/p>\n Both contests were supposed to be road games, Instead, they are at neutral sites, (Dublin and London) a scheduling outlier that the Vikings must take advantage of.<\/p>\n JJ McCarthy had 4 chunk completions in one drive that got us down to the two yard line.<\/p>\n Once protection is sorted out, they should open up the playbook for him. He can do this! pic.twitter.com\/sUHPkgpSAy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \ud835\ude46\ud835\ude56\ud835\ude68\ud835\ude5a (@verysadvikings) September 15, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n Related: Vikings HC Wastes No Time Delivering Legendary Message<\/a><\/p>\n To do so, however, their defense needs to be better against the run and JJ McCarthy needs to be better overall. That means moving on from an ugly week two lands at the feet of head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores.<\/p>\n In the meantime, fans need to try and remember that there are still 15 games (of 17) remaining\u2026 so there\u2019s a whole lot we have yet to learn about the 2025 Minnesota Vikings. A month from now, we\u2019ll realize how little we actually knew about this team, after the Falcons loss.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article: Atlanta Falcons<\/a> J.J. McCarthy<\/a> Kevin O’Connell<\/a> What We Learned<\/a> <\/p>\n More About:Minnesota Vikings<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"NFL:](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/NFL-Atlanta-Falcons-at-Minnesota-Vikings-27088385-788x525.jpg\")
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
\u2022158 yards
\u20220 TDs
\u20222 INTs
\u202222-6 Loss<\/p>\n