MINNEAPOLIS -- Boos rained down on J.J. McCarthy midway through the third quarter Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. A miserable game for the Minnesota Vikings quarterback had just gotten worse.
On third-and-7, McCarthy sailed a pass well beyond receiver Justin Jefferson on a basic out cut. The Chicago Bears were giving Jefferson that route, and the accompanying first down it could generate. NFL quarterbacks make that throw routinely, taking 8 or 9 yards against a defense that is guarding against bigger plays. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell refers to such throws as "pitch and catch."
As fans reacted angrily, McCarthy put both hands on his helmet and -- in a visceral expression of emotion -- sprinted off the field.
"You just can't miss those," McCarthy said after the Vikings' 19-17 loss. "This league's too hard. There's three or five decisions [and] plays that I want back more than anything, and that's one of them."
McCarthy's season-long streaks of inaccuracy intensified Sunday, coinciding with a bruised right hand sustained in Week 10 that required him to wear protective padding. As the fourth quarter began, he had completed 10 of 22 passes for 74 yards and two interceptions. His rate of off-target throws was an astronomical 32% at that point. He had sprayed passes over Jefferson's head, at the feet of fellow receiver Jordan Addison and ahead of tight end T.J. Hockenson. His frenetic pocket movement, ball velocity and timing issues might also have contributed to a series of drops, including two by Addison.
So when McCarthy sprinted off the field after his third-quarter misfire to Jefferson, it was fair to wonder: Was it a cry for help? Might it have been better for his development -- not to mention the team's chances for winning -- to put him out of his misery and insert backup Max Brosmer?
O'Connell said afterward that he's always balancing "what's best for the young quarterback, what's best for our offense, what's best for the team."
But when asked whether there is a depth of performance McCarthy could hit to merit at least a short-term removal from a game, O'Connell said: "Yeah, I'm not going to get into any of that right now."
To be fair, late in the fourth quarter, McCarthy led the Vikings on an 85-yard drive that briefly gave them a one-point lead with 50 seconds left. In the fourth quarter, he completed 6 of 10 passes for 76 yards and did not have a single off-target throw. It was a reminder that McCarthy has at times shown enough composure, arm strength and schematic understanding to spur optimism about his long-term future.
Perhaps that is why both Jefferson and Addison held the line during postgame interviews. Jefferson said that the difficulty of the moment isn't something "we're keeping under the rug" but added: "I have to be headfirst in leading us into the direction of winning, of being where it needs to be. If that takes taking J.J. out [socially] and getting more time with him and creating that connection with him, that's what I've got to do."
Said Addison: "It's on us. He's a young quarterback in this league. It's a tough league to win. So I feel like it's on the supporting cast around him to help make this thing go."
In the meantime, though, McCarthy is missing too many easy throws for any team to win consistently. O'Connell had already made it as painless as he could within the context of trying to win a game. He called designed runs on 46% of the Vikings' plays through the end of the third quarter and noted that he called two consecutive runs -- the second of which was a 16-yard touchdown from Jordan Mason -- after a Myles Price punt return set them up at the Bears' 24-yard line in the fourth quarter.
In a wry reference to his reputation as a pass-happy playcaller, O'Connell referred to that sequence as "unique if you're looking back over the catalog over the years."
Of course, the real meat of the Vikings' offense is downfield passing to Jefferson and Addison and sometimes Hockenson. In the past two weeks, McCarthy simply hasn't been able to hit enough open receivers. Sunday, McCarthy completed 4 of 16 passes that traveled at least 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, for a total of 76 yards with one touchdown and both interceptions. In a loss to the Baltimore Ravens a week ago, he completed only six of 21 such passes.
Would Brosmer have done any better Sunday? He had an impressive training camp as an undrafted rookie but has no experience in a competitive NFL game. Had O'Connell made the move, McCarthy would have missed out on the reps and success he experienced in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings entered the season hoping to compete for a deep playoff run while developing McCarthy in real time. It's now possible that those goals will cannibalize each other. Their postseason outlook is bleak and McCarthy has shown few signs of progress over five starts. Seven games remain to salvage one or the other -- but not both.