On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings faced division foe Green Bay, hoping to get their season back on track. Unfortunately, a subpar overall performance, including key turnovers, led to a 23-6 win for the visiting Packers.
Quarterback JJ McCarthy continues to shoulder blame after each loss. In his latest outing, he threw 12 of 19 completions for a mere 87 yards. The Vikings’ starting QB was also sacked five times and threw two interceptions to the Packers’ defense.
Over half of McCarthy’s passing yards were due to All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who finished with 48 yards on four catches. Unfortunately, those are still disappointing numbers for Jefferson, who’s been considered amongst the league’s best receivers in many seasons.
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Following another loss, he didn’t hesitate to share his thoughts about how the recent losing streak is taking a toll on his mindset as they try to move forward.
“We lost. Again. I hate to lose. I hate to be in this type of situation. I hate feeling the way we feel. I hate coming in this locker room, seeing the down faces and the down energy. So, we’ve just got to fix it and turn it around,” Jefferson said in his postgame comments.
“It’s frustrating. It’s frustrating to lose. It’s frustrating to be up here, saying the same things every single week, expecting things to change the following week. And we’re still in the same spot. We’ve just got to figure it out,” the Vikings star also said.
Jefferson, in his sixth NFL season, is still on pace to finish with decent numbers. His season-worst was 2023, when he had just 1,075 receiving yards and five touchdowns. However, he was also out for 7 games due to an injury. He entered this season at No. 9 on a list of the NFL’s top 100 players.
Despite Minnesota’s early attempts to rely more on its running backs, it could only do that for so long until McCarthy was called upon to throw more. However, a ferocious Packers pass-rushing defense affected the young quarterback throughout today’s game.
In addition to McCarthy’s interceptions and sacks, Myles Price fumbled the ball to a dominant Packers defense. It was also Price’s third fumble in the past three games.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the Vikings’ mistakes after Sunday’s loss, saying they’d need to move forward and have a strong week of preparation before they take on the Seattle Seahawks. However, he still seemed confident in relying upon McCarthy as the starting quarterback.
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