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Don’t go putting J.J. McCarthy in different uniforms — including the Giants’ — just yet.
Sam Darnold’s second straight Jets-esque performance in a primetime game, this one ending the Vikings’ season Monday night in the 27-9 wild-card loss to the Rams, has perhaps helped solidify to Minnesota decision-makers how they should handle their upcoming quarterback controversy.
While Darnold deserves kudos, applause and perhaps even the Comeback Player of the Year Award for leading the Vikings to a 14-4 record, the reality is, he folded in the two biggest games of the season.
McCarthy, the 10th overall pick by the Vikings in last year’s NFL draft, now waits in the wings.
Some had speculated whether the Vikings should trade McCarthy due to Darnold’s ascension, but these two ugly showings against the Lions and Rams, are warts that will be hard to remove.
Darnold, 27, looked like the former Jets bust in those games, taking bad sacks, making poor throws and leading his team to nine points in both games.
He completed just 43-of-81 (53.1 percent) of his throws for 411 yards with one touchdown and one interception over the last two weeks, including Monday’s 25-of-40 showing that includes the touchdown and interception. He also lost a fumble for a touchdown in the blowout playoff loss.
“I feel I left a couple throws out there that I could have been better on,” Darnold said. “Just too many mistakes on my end. … I clearly didn’t play good enough the last couple of weeks.”
It’s possible the Vikings could still use the franchise tag on Darnold, but giving him a lucrative deal and trading McCarthy after these back-to-back duds would raise some flags.
As of now, this season — the best of his career — is the outlier in a career that featured far too many underwhelming seasons with the Jets and Panthers.
Darnold said he’s not worried about how these two weeks will affect his future.
“It’s very important we all think about Sam’s body of work, what he was able to do this year, when not very many people thought he would be able to lead a team to 14 wins,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “It did not work out in the end, and I think Sam would be the first one to tell you. Could he have played better tonight? I’m sure he would tell you he could have. … Sam, and the journey him and I went on this year, will always be something that’s a special place in my heart, for sure.”
This isn’t to say that McCarthy, 21, is a sure-fire, can’t-miss prospect and this decision is a no-brainer.
He’s undergone two knee surgeries since tearing his meniscus over the summer and has not played a single NFL snap. There are even some who wondered about his ceiling entering the league.
But having a quarterback on a rookie deal is the biggest cheat code in the NFL — aside from having Patrick Mahomes — and the Vikings believe enough in McCarthy to have selected him in the top 10.
Teams need to make decisions with championship aspirations — well, maybe the Giants don’t do this — and Darnold, when it mattered, did not look like a quarterback who can lead a team to the promised land.
There are unknowns with McCarthy, including his ceiling and floor.
“Just far too many negatives,” O’Connell said. “Really over the last two weeks, too many negative plays that set you behind.”
If the Vikings opt to let Darnold hit free agency, it would provide a possible option for quarterback-needy teams like the Giants or possibly the Browns.
And in that scenario, the Vikings would hope their first-round pick can thrive in these critical games where Darnold, in an otherwise great season, looked like he saw ghosts again.
“At the end of the day, all that matters is when you have a good season, what do you do in the playoffs?” Darnold said. “We didn’t get it done and that’s all that matters.”
