Vikings, McCarthy Face Scary And Crucial Test In 1st Preseason Game

J.J. McCarthy goes back into live action as the Vikings open their preseason against the Texans. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

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The Minnesota Vikings are about to learn quite a bit about their starting quarterback in the next week. It starts Saturday when they take the field at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Houston Texans for the first preseason game of the year. Then, in the coming week, the Vikings will share the practice field with the New England Patriots.

J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus 364 days ago, and now he returns to the scene of the crime to begin his run as the most important player on the team. Vikings observers have been led to believe by head coach Kevin O’Connell that McCarthy is the real deal and he will be a better quarterback than Sam Bradford or Kirk Cousins – remember him?

Bradford led the Vikings to a 14-3 record last year and Cousins was the quarterback in O’Connell’s first year as head coach in 2022 when the Vikings won the NFC North title. O’Connell is considered one of the elite coaches in the NFL as he has graduated from the category of “hot, young coach.” His greatest strength is his ability to get the most out of his quarterback, and that’s a formula for coaching a very long time in the NFL.

His second-greatest strength is his ability to build a winning atmosphere in the locker room. The Vikings players and coaches have built a supportive environment that is unlike most in the NFL. That good feeling played a key role in why the Vikings were able to start 5-0 last season and then build a nine-game winning streak.

All of that is in the past as McCarthy gets set to take the field against a live opponent. Suddenly, the preseason is starting to matter again – at least for the Vikings. O’Connell is betting on a quarterback who has only taken one quarter’s worth of snaps in the preseason.

He is only going to take about the same number of snaps against the Texans. However, he must come off the field with a smile and a sprint, showing the team’s coaching staff and long-suffering fans that he is healthy and fully on his way to the journey that the Vikings believe he can take this year.

McCarthy has the accuracy, arm strength, athleticism and intelligence to excel in the NFL. These are the tangible aspects that are used to measure a quarterback’s talent. However, as much as O’Connell believes in McCarthy, does he have the intangible characteristics that will give the Vikings a chance to get the best of the Detroit Lions in the NFC North and compete with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles for NFC superiority?

Vikings brain trust believes in McCarthy

O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have taken all their chips and shoved them into the middle of the table because they are betting on McCarthy demonstrating that he is going to rank among the best in the league and is the best option the Vikings had this season.

The Vikings could have retained Cousins a couple of years ago or decided that Bradford was good enough to be their QB1. They rejected those scenarios without hesitation.

O’Connell clearly has faith that his second-year quarterback is ready to grow and learn how to play the position in a dynamic fashion.

“There’s going to be a bunch of things that he will personally feel that we can build upon,” O’Connell said. “There’s going to be a bunch of things as a team that hopefully we can build upon. And there’s going to be some coachable moments that are all part of the process of getting him ready to go towards the season.”

It is now McCarthy’s turn and the Vikings are hoping that he can flash his talent from time to time throughout the three preseason games against the Texans, Patriots and Tennessee Titans. More than that, McCarthy must maintain his health and have an injury-free summer.

If that happens, the Vikings will be ready to unleash McCarthy in season-opening Monday night game when they go to Chicago to face Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams and the supposedly resurgent Chicago Bears.

O’Connell and his coaching staff will be holding their breath as McCarthy takes the field against the Texans and Patriots in the upcoming week to make sure he remains healthy.

The first major challenge of the 2025 season is at hand, and unlike most NFL preseason games, it is vital that the Vikings see their quarterback make significant progress – and come off the field in a healthy condition.